After taking over Dior Homme ten years ago, Kris Van Assche continues to lead the French couture house toward a brave new world of experimentation, self-expression and liberation.
By Hassan Al-Saleh
Photography Morgan O’Donovan
Over the past decade, the private and methodical Artistic Director of Dior Homme, Kris Van Assche, has created a radically new vocabulary for the illustrious French couture house. The Belgian designer has defined a strong aesthetic of his own by reinventing contemporary tailoring, imbuing sartorial suiting with street-cool edge with great rigor and skill.
Expressing Monsieur Christian Dior’s modernist and anti-conformist spirit, Van Assche believes that one needs to reinvent to stay relevant and that could not be more true of his tenure at Dior Homme. After weathering the early storms of his appointment and putting his eponymous label on hiatus, he has come into his own during what can only be categorized as a boundary-breaking journey at Dior. By consistently presenting a study of contrasts through a conscientious balance between heritage and innovation, Van Assche has gained subversive power against storied codes.
As Van Assche explains, he has transformed Dior Homme and Dior Homme has transformed him.
“It has taken me some time to believe that the significance of what we are doing could affect and inspire people outside the industry.”
Read the full interview in our latest issue out now.