Paris –
If any designer in Paris can walk away feeling justifiably good about himself after the just finished menswear season it is Kris Van Assche, whose subtle collection for Dior Homme in Paris on Sunday, June 28, and edgy fare with his own label both bore one indelible trademark - his own.
In previous seasons at Dior, Van Assche has tended to hedge his bets by not fully embracing his own aesthetic, partly due to the reputation of his predecessor, Hedi Slimane, and partly due to the weight of assuming the responsibility at such a famous house as Christian Dior.
But on Sunday afternoon, his lightly layered, faintly billowing and inside-outside Dior Homme collection was Van Assche following his own voice.
"This collection is really me being really, fully myself at Dior," said Van Assche with a slight intake of air and a palpable sense of release.
Where before Van Assche tended to be out in left field in terms of design trends, this season his main themes were entirely in sync with the current mood in menswear.
Take the trousers from Dior, cut amply at the thigh and tight at the ankle and slotting in with current trend, or the light layering, where the just-so transparency picked up on a look seen a lot in Milan this season. But Van Assche's ideas were all the better for his riskier approach, like using horse hair, normally employed on the inside to define the shoulder, used here on the outside to embellish a jacket.
The Dior designer also injected a note of street hipness with sleeveless jackets, vests with floppy lapels and high-tops with laces wrapped all around the ankle.
On Friday, June 26, Van Assche sent out his signature collection underneath the arches of the University Pierre and Marie Curie. A layered look at menswear, it featured baggy shorts, transparent chiffon tops, jackets with exposed seams and some great djellabas, a key item for next summer.
But his best moment were some remarkable, multilace street warrior sandals in electric blues and yellows, ideal for the a colonial-inspired clubber next spring.
