For his Spring Summer 2011 show, Kris Van Assche had his runway constructed in the centre of the Halle Freysinnet’s immense hangar, dwarfed within the concrete and steel space on the docks of Paris. This relic of industry now hosts a rally of cultural events every year, however it was the labored past that linked beautifully with Kris’s show – a grounded ode to blue collar workers translated with a monochrome polish.

It seems Mr. Van Assche has truly hit his stride, mingling his worlds at Dior Homme and his own label to powerful effect – allowing double impact of his seasonal inspirations to flow through each collection with respect to their individual traditions. This time around the location was the same yet the feeling rather different, Dior’s enormous light cylinder absent and replaced by a simple white paper backdrop, rolled from a frame down the straight runway.

Backstage, the boys mingled around with their dressers, hair and makeup teams taking extra care of their hands – blackened with makeup reminiscent of coal dust. Though hardly dressing miners, Kris threaded his looks with a sophisticated interpretation of workwear details including leather and cotton apron belts, ropes and hanging keychains, and heavy work boots with canvas trims.

The garments themselves possessed a comfortable quality that betrayed their luxurious fabric and finish, with jackets belted at the hip and trousers slung low and loose. Cotton jersey tops were cut like tunics or oversized t-shirts, accentuating a broad shoulder and layered in the sleeves. Some looks were styled like coveralls, with mid-sleeve shirts tucked into trousers or even attached as jumpsuits.

A more formal story played with sheer stripes and a lustrous dark denim, and leather pieces held a rich, oiled shine. All silhouettes remained in Kris’s strict palette of black, white, icy grey and beige, with the final outings offering a rare foray into abstract pattern – with splattered paint across slim trousers, a macintosh coat and raglan sweaters. It seems his miners hit oil.

Set to the soundtrack of Trentemoller’s “Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider GO!”, Kris kept the high-energy ambience to his show with this surf-rock track of snare drums and jangling guitars setting the pace for a fast, confident walk. A walk that he deserves himself, as he continues to drill his way through the fashion fold to divine his own niche in Paris’ menswear calendar.

Above image by Patrice Stable.

Above image by Patrice Stable.

Above image by Patrice Stable.

Like a glorious pillar of light the central white monument of Kris Van Assche’s Dior Homme show for Spring Summer 2011 stood alone in the cavernous expanse of the Halle Freyssinet yesterday, beckoning guests from afar with a totemic gravity. After iced tea and pleasantries, all were seated around it’s perimeter and the plastic shields rolled away from the freshly painted runway.

The models began their walk from inside the cylindrical frame as faint silhouettes against the fabric, emerging one by one into the blinding white arena. Returning to the key motifs of the past two seasons, Kris updated the robed coats and sleeveless tunics of his recent oeuvre into light, flowing fabrics that draped and cut away from the body. Again dressed in a pure palette of black, white, icy grey and beige the Dior Homme man truly transcended geography -with Kris’s influence of North African robes equally as evident as the traditions of Dior tailoring, and the predominantly South American casting now scattered with Eurasian blood.

Entitled “Lessness”, the collection spoke little of the tricky technique and embellishment that has marked Kris’ earlier work – it spoke a more simple poetry of motion and emotion. Patch-pockets and epaulettes were a common thread through gilets and trenches – rendered in suede, heavy cotton and fine wools. Outerwear hung long and loose, squaring off a strong shoulder, often with contrast piping that floated inside linings or highlighted collars and lapels. A knit cummerbund was slung around the hips of several looks, splitting the silhouette with a casual, luxe formality. And the shoes held their own lightness, with a trompe l’oeil effect hiding a canvas boot caged (like a sock) under a laced gladiator sandal.

Kris Van Assche has set a new benchmark of late, with his razor sharp execution and emotional minimalism igniting a sophisticated new ideology at Dior. This season proves a steady evolution, one that has potential to rise much further – for a new romance that bridges classic French codes and Belgian darkness with the savoir-faire of a world traveller.

Via Nowness.com, we present a new fashion film for Kris Van Assche’s Dior Homme Fall Winter 2010 collection.

The short piece is directed by Sharif Hamza and styled by Dazed & Confused’s Robbie Spencer, and takes place in a stark corridor space, with a white panelled ceiling and mysterious dark doorway. Models walk a solemn procession through the bright passage, offering dark glances that seem both solemn and sensual – coupled with a sense of urgency. The fluid layers of the garments undulate as the boys march the corridor, with the luxurious cashmere, polished cotton and raw-edge silks of coats, shirts and ties providing textural nuances that appear rich against the cold backdrop. Watch the video here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Read the interview with Kris below, as he discusses the collection and the balance of managing two labels:

Nowness: What were your inspirations for fall 2010?

Kris Van Assche: The first thing that I told my team at the beginning of September was that I wanted to make military coats, but I wanted them to be very light. Usually when you find these old coats they are so stiff they can stand up by themselves. I wanted them to be comfortable and soft, in between a military blanket and a coat. It’s this idea of comfort clothing.

N: How does comfort square with military uniform though?

KVA: For me military influences are always in the back of my head because I want the result to be masculine. Obviously I’m working on a luxury product and I want to use these great materials, but I’m not really into the trashy mood of fashion, it’s not my thing. It should never look pretentious or precious. My influences come from very different directions. I was in India in August and that’s where the collection’s color palette came from. All the men there wear these really toned-down, dusty colors so the idea of wearing a coat as a blanket is linked directly to India. But when you get closer to a show it is important that you get away from the initial inspiration, in case you make it look too historical.

N: There’s a really strong narrative between your spring and fall collections. Were you consciously evolving the aesthetic from last season?

KVA: Well, last spring for me was a turning point. I found a collection that feels right for me at Dior and for fashion today. But I was very scared about the reaction because it was personal and it wasn’t exactly what the house was expecting. But their reactions were really good and it encouraged me to do winter with that same idea of comfort, luxury, simplicity and detailing. It’s something I am very much at ease with. Much more so than with sequins!

N: Where do you draw the line between your work for Kris Van Assche and your work for Dior?

KVA: From day one it was clear to me that at Dior we have an in-house atelier, and I should benefit from working with an atelier of luxury and craftsmanship––something I obviously don’t have with my personal team. At the beginning [Dior] was much more theatrical than me, much more than how it’s ended up being now. Now it’s become a Belgian view on luxury, whereas my label is a Belgian view on creativity. Both of them can cohabit now.

N: What is your take on Dior as a larger entity—are you ever inspired by the women’s collections?

KVA: Dior Homme is totally separate from the women’s. We’re even in different buildings. It’s been like this since day one and it is also the strength of the house.

N: You created an art zine last year, Londerzeel. Are you planning any more exhibitions or art publications?

KVA: Not in the near future. What I enjoyed so much about Londerzeel was that it made me meet really interesting people. But at one point I was creating six collections a year as well as an artistic exhibition. I mean, that together with the economic crisis… it was too much. When there’s something interesting coming along then we go for it. I had a photo project withSarah Moon [for Dior Homme] that I really enjoyed. And that’s obviously something I will continue to do.

N: Do you have a favorite artist at the moment?

KVA: There is Andrea Mastrovito, an Italian artist who I worked with on my tiny little campaign for my own label. He is the most poetic person I’ve ever met in my whole life. I like [photographer] Jeff Burton a lot. I’m always looking for those kinds of people.

N: Is there a muse or celebrity that sums up Dior Homme fall 2010?

KVA: Some people have these big muses, but I don’t. But I really would love to dress Johnny Depp, if I had to choose one. That’s probably more because he’s not into fashion––[it would be] a huge challenge and I really like his universe. But I don’t have pictures of one person hanging up on my inspiration board. Each time I work on a piece, whether it be from Dior or my own label, I always imagine someone in it––it can be me, it can be a person in my team, it can be an 18-year-old or a 45-year-old.

N: What are your wardrobe staples for spring?

KVA: I’m actually quite happy in the Dior spring collection. The unfinished borders, the raw seams, I’m wearing quite a lot of those. I mix them up with my own label. It’s really a point where I’m at ease with both of them so I don’t think about them anymore.

Both video and interview from Nowness.com

For the 7th installment of The Early Days series, we present the dual roles of Kris Van Assche, as a designer in his own right for his eponymous label, and as the creative director at Dior Homme.

Kris was invited to curate A#7 at a pivotal time in his career, as he took the helm of Dior Homme in 2007. Having taken this significant role, he chose to interpret and realise the masculine vision of the house of Dior – with all it’s tradition, codes and signatures – as well as continuing to develop his own label. It is inevitable that the two cross aesthetic paths at times, but it is the ability to uphold the two separate worlds simultaneously that warrants merit.

For Kris’s first solo collection for Fall Winter 2005, he explored the concept of the three-piece suit, and how it could fit with a more relaxed mens wardrobe – teaming his artfully-panelled suits with sneakers and casual checked shirts. With the theme of a ‘working man’, Kris adapted the traditional formality of a suit to a modern setting, and for the finale sent out rather unconventional models to demonstrate this – with three 50+ gentlemen wearing his designs.

In his Dior Homme debut for Spring Summer 2008, this relaxed vibe was not so evident in the garments – rather in the intimate salon setting that he chose to show his first capsule for the house. The showing consisted of a small press presentation in Paris, with models posing in crisp formal looks beneath crystal chandeliers. The collection was a study in the basics and fundamentals that underpin the house, with Kris’s eye for detail and construction showcased in white shirting, voluminous pleated trousers and sombre, slim suiting.

It wasn’t until a season after that Kris truly flexed his creative muscle at Dior, having a full time frame to realise the Fall Winter 08-09 collection. This first runway collection was a poetically dark affair – with a sheen and lustre to both formal and sportswear pieces, rendering them instantly luxurious. Butterfly accessories were worn as bowties and pinned across suit jackets, and the pleated trousers of the season before returned in both satin and leather variations. Models seemed vampiric with their gelled flat hair and ghostly white makeup, descending upon the crowd in a dramatic finale of white dinner shirts.

Although not as far in the distant past as some of our other curators first shows, it is still an insightful study to place Kris’s work in a temporal context, to see the progress of his vision for both labels, from the beginning to his latest work for Fall Winter 2010. Always playing classics with an edgy twist, he continues to define a wardrobe for an assuredly masculine, modern gentleman.

Above: Dior Homme Spring Summer 2008 presentation, photographed by Gaëtan Bernard.

Above: Dior Homme by Kris Van Assche Fall Winter 2008-2009 photographed by Patrice Stable.

All images courtesy of Dior Homme & Kris Van Assche. Rights reserved.

Kris Van Assche has once  again proven the strength and depth of his artistic vision, this time in Paris where he has exhibited the ‘Picaflor’ exhibition in the Galerie des Galeries – the art, fashion and design space of the Galerie Lafayette – in association with the International Fashion and Photography Festival of Hyères and curated by gallerist (and A BLOG contributor) Barbara Polla.

Utilising this brilliantly stark white space, Kris has installed his geometric metal flowers standing in small groups around the room, allowing viewers to wander around and peer into their dark centres to discover various video moments following his inspirations and creations. From our very own cover of A#7 to images from Kris’ inspiration folios, the video screens are a glimpse into his world and a poetic metaphor – humans becoming hummingbirds, dipping inside the flower to receive nectar. One screen is linked with a video camera mounted alongside, allowing the viewer to see his or herself from a side-on perspective inside the flower – a strange and voyeuristic personal encounter.

Alongside Kris’s flowers, Berlin-based artist Matt Saunders has created a series of portraits rendered as ink drawings on film negative paper, based on photographs of Kris’s female models backstage at his Spring Summer 2009 show. The effect is moody and surrealist, like bizarre mugshots taken through stained glass. Lined along the far  right wall, the artworks add gravity and depth to the dazzlingly bright gallery (that feels almost like a studio space), and are an avantgarde expression of beauty – entirely stripping away the detail of any fashion context and allowing the viewer to connect only with this hazy image of a beautiful girl.

Another example of Matt’s work is the larger piece below, of a garment rack after one of Kris’s shows with each piece wrapped and giving a surgical, sanitised feeling – again an interesting observation from an artist looking into the fashion world with a different perspective.

At the opening night of the exhibition, guests were invited to preview the works in the company of the designer and artist and all involved, with the Dior team out in full force to celebrate (following their menswear show days before).

The exhibition is a brief encounter with Kris’s world and manages to reveal a lot – but through a very small lens. Many of the elements are pieces of a puzzle that all fit together in A#7, further elaborated on in Londerzeel, Kris’s own magazine of which the second edition was also launched on the night.

If you are in Paris before February 27th, we strongly suggest a visit to see Picaflor for yourself.

The Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy was transformed into a blacked out amphitheatre for the Dior Homme show on Saturday afternoon, its floor a gravel pit encircled and intersected by an inlaid wooden runway. A harsh contrast to last season’s bright, airy setting in the Carreau du Temple, the Fall Winter 2010 presentation was blanketed in a bleak darkness, with an industrial “halo” of Thierry Dreyfus‘s lighting rigs looming above the arena.

Entitled “Coal”, the show was an inspired study of the monochrome, and Kris Van Assche worked in total looks of black, ecru, grey marle and charcoal. On a base of crisp collared shirting and cuffed trousers in either pleated volumes or straight legs, Kris showed an extensive range of luxurious jackets and coats in many different shapes but unified in their cashmere, leather and wool fabrications with a languid fluidity.

Peak collared trenches and pea coats ended with unexpectedly pointed hems, blazers wrapped around the chest and continued into scarves, and a dinner jacket was given a third lapel in contrasting fabric. Self-striped silks and cottons created a textural highlight in more formal pieces, and flashes of silver came stitched into shoulder seams, on tie stripes and from long zippers on hooded coats and blousons.

Almost bare of accessories, the looks were worn with a low dress shoe, sometimes laced with a monkstrap over, and several floor-length coats swept aside at the waist to reveal a leather bag hooked to a belt loop (seemingly keeping a Bible safe).

Choosing Parisian technicians Mode F to develop his soundtrack for both the Dior and Kris Van Assche shows this season, Kris was able to engage personally in the process through their intuitive methods, to create the pulsing power beats of both his shows (listen in the video below). Odile Gilbert gave the models messy, textured hair – adding a boyish charm to the heavy, masculine collection – and Aaron de Mey delivered with clean, simple Dior makeup.

Taking the helm in the wake of a revolution at Dior, Kris has proven himself – creating the world of an intelligent and contemporary gentleman – a modern traveller. The slick production was a testament to the house and to Kris’s ongoing realisation of their vision, subverting their classic codes to redeliver fashionable, elegant garments in unexpected, luxurious ways.

Show Details:

MUSIC: MODE F

PRODUCTION: EYESIGHT

HAIR: Odile Gilbert

MAKEUP: Aaron de Mey

Kris Van Assche presented his Fall Winter 2010 presentation in Paris on Friday, under the vaulted ceilings of the Couvent des Cordeliers on the left bank of the Seine. Imagined as a dark traveller in the night, the relaxed collection was built on a layered base of a loose fit trouser and classic shirting in a sombre palette of charcoal, midnight blue and black.

Kris’s favourite South American boys carried the looks with a reserved masculinity, their heads covered with long knitted hats that gave a rogue air to a collection that stepped away from his African influences of seasons past and grounded itself firmly in a Northern Hemisphere winter. Labelled “Resistance”, the presentation had a distinctly teenage vibe of sportswear layering – with checked shirts, bomber jackets, sweatpants and plaid blazers all working together, suffused with a downbeat, boyish romance.

There was a sense of urgency and aggression to the presentation, thanks to a thumping soundtrack of crashing drums and power guitars by Paris-based sound stylists MODE-F. The breathtaking surrounds of the convent were artfully lit by the master Thierry Dreyfus, who has collaborated with Kris at Dior. [Click here for more on Thierry].

Backstage after the show, we saw rapper Kanye West and girlfriend Amber Rose congratulating Kris on his efforts! But celebrity fans aside, this show was a cohesive progression of Kris’s world as he develops the balance of casual and formalwear in a stylistically darker direction to his previous offerings, while maintaining the sense of classicism and street sensibility that continues to inform his aesthetic. Keep reading to see the latest from Kris at Dior Homme soon.

Throughout our exploration of A#7 we have seen many facets of Kris Van Assche’s creativity – through the runway, the produced photoshoot, holiday photography, inspiration walls and other artworks. Today we look once again behind closed doors, as Gaëtan Bernard captures Kris and his chosen models as they work on the garment fittings for the Dior Homme Fall Winter 2008 collection in Paris.

Intimately cropped and cut, with crisp shadows and the fresh faced Hernan and Gabriel sans makeup, these pictures evoke an expectant mood, as Kris studies the looks and individual pieces with scrutiny. It transcends the documentary mode, becoming in itself a very cohesive series of portraits. Gaëtan’s eye reaches towards the human subjects, faces that would otherwise serve little purpose in fittings – as traditionally the models function as blank canvases, mere physical bodies upon which to hang clothes.

“My close friend and gallery owner Barbara Polla was a great help…  I have to say this project was a very personal one.” – Kris Van Assche, December 2009.

The creation of A#7 was a very personal journey for Kris Van Assche, a project he shared with close friends and like-minded artists and creatives. Today we present the third in a series of contributions to A BLOG written by Barbara Polla, a gallerist and author who travels alongside Kris in discovering new and beautiful ways of seeing art and the wider world. Our thanks again to Barbara for her willing and harmonious contributions to our story.

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Kris Van Assche has a hummingbird drawn on his arm. Once we were visiting together Jeremy Deller’s show at the Palais de Tokyo (http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/deller/index.html<http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/deller/index.html>  ) and talking… and Kris inspired by what we were looking at explained me that art requires freedom – without freedom you can’t see art – it’s like the hummingbird, the bird has to be free to nurture himself in the heart of flowers, told Kris pointing to his tatoo. It is this very moment, this association of thoughts and images that gave birth toPicaflor (hummingbird in the language spoken in Buenos Aires, one of Kris Van Assche’s city of the world.) Picaflor ? The word itself sounds like a thorn, like a difficulty. The difficulty to getting closer and closer to beauty in our everyday life, a difficulty that requires constant efforts, attention, and humility. We must dare to choose freedom: the hard way but the only one to nurture our soul.

The bird is also a symbol of freedom, freedom of the soul liberating itself from the body, a symbol for transfiguration for the Egyptians, or, according to Freud, an analogy for erection – unless being caged. From childhood with caged birds (as drawn by the Andrea Mastrovito, in the context of a long lasting artistic friendship) to the hummingbird on Kris’ arm, free to fly away any time, a continuous search for freedom and meaning.

After Hyères, last spring, this winter, starting January 26, 2010, you will find, in the the Galeries des Galeries, the gorgeous showroom of the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, as in a wild urban meadow, a dozen flowers, perched on stalks like orchestra tripods, like waders – geometrical flowers, warrior flowers, robot flowers, made out of mirrors in which you can see the reflection of the outside world. And in the heart of the corolla of these mysterious flowers, you will discover the virtual and sensorial images, sounds and smells that nurture Kris Van Assche’s inspirations.

Kris Van Assche’s ability to constantly renew his inspirations and creations translates into the presentation of a “second type” Picaflor : same essence, new inspirations, novel images, ongoing creation…

To see Barbara’s gallery please click here.