”Reinvent to stay relevant.”
Kris Van Assche joined Dior back in April of 2007. To celebrate the designer’s 10-year anniversary with the French fashion house, Kris Van Assche was interviewed by
Kris Van Assche started as an assistant in the design team:
”I have a long-term relationship with the house and with the archives. We offer bespoke tailoring, we offer beautiful business suits, we can do a high-end, super-luxurious leather jacket – but at the same time do something that’s more fashion and out there. The fashion part makes the luxury part less classical, and the luxury part makes the fashion less street. It’s a win-win.”
Kris Van Assche on contrast:
”A lot of people want to put brands into boxes – you’re either a classic luxury house or you’re a cool fashion label – but it just so happens that the house of Dior has always been about contrast. Mr Dior himself was always focused on the contrast between feminine volumes and masculine fabrics.”
Kris Van Assche on how men’s interest in fashion has changed:
”Men today are much more engaged with fashion. I’ve worked in menswear for 18 years, and when I began there was nowhere near the level of competition or interest.”
Suits vs hoodies:
”The suit is a totem of the house. I hear that tailoring is over and that young kids today don’t wear suits, everyone is in hoodies… But maybe it’s because we just haven’t given them the right suits. This season we’ve really started looking at how to reinvent contemporary tailoring, adding a streetwear element in the pants, perhaps – making them loose and baggy – and pairing with a very tailored jacket. It’s a bridge into a more mature style without moving beyond a familiar environment.”
Dior Homme relationship with Dior:
”Dior Homme has always been the little brother of this huge, feminine institution. He’s been in the shade in the past, but now… now we’re making some hardcore noise.”
Kris Van Assche on retrospection:
”I’m not a looking-back kind of person. Things in my house go back maybe one year and that’s it. I’m aware of the journey I’ve been on with the house and how we’ve evolved, but I’m not tied to the past. Fashion today moves so fast – it’s like someone pressed the accelerator.”
