Long before fashion houses consciously co-opted colours as brand identifiers, Dior was one of the first few to have incorporated the colour grey (specifically Trianon Grey or Montaigne Grey) as part of its visual vocabulary. Grey has become such an integral colour for the house that you’d be hard-pressed to find a single collection without the use of it.

It is said that Monsieur Dior’s fascination with the hue first began when he was establishing the couture house on the now-historic 30 Avenue Montaigne address. He drew inspiration from his childhood home in Granville, which featured hues of blush pink and grey. The latter, he regarded as a practical and neutral shade that’s elegant in every material expression from wool to tweed.

Grey continues to be a core element of the House and one that Dior Men artistic director Kim Jones refreshes time and time again. Across renewed menswear tailoring, reimagined bag silhouettes as well as modern classic pieces, Jones typically includes grey as a part of an item’s colourway. We reckon it’s equal parts to honour Monsieur Dior as it is exemplifying just how elegant the pigment truly is.

As one of Dior Men’s explorations of reimagining its icons, the recently released Dior Gravity series now receives a greyed out treatment. The embossed Dior Oblique motif is achieved through a delicate technique that marks the leather with the aid of gravity—hence the name. The latest iteration of Dior Gravity adds another layer of craftsmanship with a gradient of greys beautiful executed through a hand-spraying process. Dior artisans then cut, assemble and sew the elements one by one.

A duo of backpacks and messenger bags as well as a clutch are dressed in the gradient Dior Gravity. And just as how Monsieur Dior himself had envisioned, the distinct Dior elegance is apparent despite the pieces crafted as more modern, casual accessories. The Dior Oblique motif is slightly obscured as the shift from life to dark glides over each piece, adding a sort of dramatic subtlety—a kind of intricate element you'd find on a couture piece.