The Artist Behind Giant Robot at Dior’s Show

Dior dazzled fashionistas two weeks ago with its Pre-AW19 men’s show in Tokyo, not only with designs. It’s time to know more about the sculpture that was in the spotlight along with designs.

Forty years ago, when Hajime Soroyama started drawing robots, drawing sexy female robots was not a thing at the time. So he started drawing this way because it was something new. This year, the Japanese artist, most famous globally for designing the original Sony AIBO robot dog, had a new challenge. Commissioned by the artistic director of Dior menswear Kim Jones, for the first time the artist had to create a large-scale statue, as he’d never done before.

The retro-futurist robot embodying an “idealized woman”, is based on the design from Soroyama’s 1983 book. The figure was carved from a block of styrofoam and then coated in multiple layers of aluminum paint, taking 16 people to assemble. The new menswear collection mirrored the high-tech, futurist vision set out by Sorayama's centerpiece, and Soyorama’s illustrations also made it as garment prints.

The robot featured in Dior's Pre-Fall 2019 menswear show in Tokyo

The figure was carved from styrofoam and coated in aluminium paint

The robot was displayed with graphics of pink cherry blossoms on the surrounding floor

The robot's head resembles a helmet with a single illuminated rectangular slit for an eye and antennae for ears