Kris Van Assche didn’t have much exposure to the glamorous fashion world while growing up in the outlying Belgian town of Londerzeel, which he describes as “so dull it wasn’t ever bourgeois,” other than through books about design icons like Yohji Yamamoto and copies of Italian fashion magazines he would order on demand.
One of the reasons he consented to the publication of a book detailing his career to date, which spans 55 collections for his own brand, Dior Homme, and Berluti, is that he believes it will encourage young people to consider a career in fashion. He emphasizes, “I think books are incredibly important.
If, like Van Assche, you grimace over a less-than-ideal color and fabric choice, it’s a warts-and-all look back because the designer included comprehensive run-of-shows for everything he turned out. For “the complete picture,” not one glance was omitted during editing.
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“There are some collections I’m less at ease with, but they ended up being turning points,” he says.
The 432-page book also provides a glimpse into Van Assche’s private life, beginning with a sweet photo of him at his First Communion when he was six years old and wearing a necktie, and ending with a picture of him with his longtime partner Mauricio Nardi. There are also quotes from his mechanic father Hugo and tributes to his paternal grandmother scattered throughout.
The designer bemoaned how journalists have long referred to him as “the cold one” since he always keeps interviews focused on his collections, concepts, and creative processes.
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The truth is that family members were present at each and every one of his fashion shows in Paris, and this book celebrates their lasting influence. His parents, who believed in “working your way up,” enrolled their teenage son in art classes, and his grandmother, a “over-the-top” aesthete who thought dressing nicely was a sign of politeness, both encouraged their son to pursue his interest in fashion. Van Assche characterizes his parents as “down-to-earth, hard-working, normal people.” His mother, a secretary, passed away in 2022.
At times, the book is confessional. When Van Assche was chosen in 2007 to succeed Hedi Slimane at Dior Homme following a lauded stint that had a significant impact on menswear even after Slimane had left the company, Van Assche was well aware of the job that lay ahead of him.
When Van Assche took over as creative director of Dior Homme, he writes in the book, “I knew that some critics were out there waiting for me with bazookas.” “It was a hopeless circumstance. However, I ultimately decided to accept the position, and I have never looked back because the team was so warmly inviting to me.
Even for those who have followed Van Assche’s career, the book serves as a reminder that the creator was one of the first to finish men’s suits with athletic footwear, only one of the numerous ways he merged upscale and streetwear aesthetics. He was also among the first to create wool trousers with elastic waists that resembled sweatpants, sock-like shoes, and hourglass-shaped coats, and he usage of Woodkid music as the backdrop for his runway shows.
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A$AP Rocky makes the first edition. “I was the company’s first Black male model to be signed. And I’m pleased of that,” he continues, referring to his appearance in a crimson, double-breasted topcoat for the Dior Homme autumn 2016 campaign.
Van Assche, who is now 47, has never advertised himself as a cutting-edge, avant-garde designer.
The forced reflection on his career served as a reminder that he has always designed wearable, practical clothing for active lifestyles.
He reflects, “I’m not a provocateur, I don’t like thoughts, but I like beauty. I accepted it, and I believe there is a need for that.
There has always been a sense of “reality,” he writes in the book, even in his first hallmark collection. “It concerns a romantic notion of men. The dynamic, active, working man: real men who don’t mind getting their hands filthy and rolling up their sleeves.
Workwear trends, utilitarian accents, and the designer’s preference for working only with artists who get their hands dirty creating their works all bear the influence of his mechanic father, who has served as a touchstone throughout his career.
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In retrospect, it’s clear that Van Assche’s concept of dressing a “active, dynamic, sporty, even sexy kind of guy” was different from the prevalent rocker movement at the time.
Another recurring motif is boyhood. “I’m always inspired by this moment in a young man’s life where he goes from boyhood to adulthood — when he understands that the way you look makes a difference: their first suit, their first date, their first job interview,” the designer says.
Between 2008 and 2010, he dabbled in womenswear under his eponymous brand, a reflection of his womenswear specialization while a student at Antwerp’s renowned Royal Academy of Fine Arts under the direction of course director Walter Van Beirendonck.
Van Assche admits that putting the book together was a “total nightmare because I’m really bad at doing my own archives.” After almost 5,000 emails and a significant amount of help from the book’s editor Grace Johnston, it will be available on October 2 in Europe.
But in the end, he discovered that the process was therapeutic, and it left him feeling content with his professional path so far and prepared to take on his next challenge in the fashion industry.
Van Assche hired the renowned French graphic design team of Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag of M/M (Paris) to create his visual compendium, which features tiny text blocks floating above pages with tiny or oversized photographs. The introduction was written by journalist Anders Christian Madsen, who claimed that “with his restrained, pristine approach and his devotion to old-world beauty, Kris’ work consistently reflects his broader transformations within the culture of fashion.”
With images by Paolo Roversi, Willy Vanderperre, Nan Goldin, David Sims, Alasdair McLellan, Sarah Moon, Nick Knight, Patrick Demarchelier, Jeff Burton, and Inez & Vinoodh, “Kris Van Assche: 55 Collections” is a publication by the Belgian imprint Lannoo.
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