A fairground remembered from his time as a student at the Antwerp Academy, sat slap bang in the middle of Kris Van Assche’s Spring Dior Homme show. It was a flashback, he said, and a colourful backdrop for a band of young rebels dressed in black. The clothes riffed on New Wave, goth, punk, and a touch of sport to bring them bang up to date for today. Van Assche likes to mix his references, blurring lines and making unexpected connections, like the sleek suits with oversized skater trousers trailing, or sporty parkas infused with the graphicism and colour of a New Wave album sleeve. Of course it was all done through the absolute luxury of Dior – custom woven jacquards, embroideries and hand-finished seams, a set of black leather bleached like faded denim (don’t try to DIY that). The youthful attitude was all-important. You’d never guess Dior was about to turn 70 years old when it’s got this kind of energy.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
