Recent seasons have seen Dior Homme go from strength to strength, from strong to stronger. Kris Van Assche is doing a sterling job. His aesthetic has evolved during his tenure at the helm of the house’s menswear division, and in a direction that appears to be a progressive push for individuality. In an authentic way. Nothing to do with that bells-and-whistles malarkey that is the travelling circus of bloggers and fashion darlings ravenous for attention from, well, each other.
“For Autumn 2014, I worked on the concept of an individual who blossoms within a group; a bit like those art or design students like I was myself in Antwerp, and that I’ve seen everywhere from New York to Berlin,” Van Assche says.
Various pieces’ print work serves as a reference to those young artists: graphic suggestions of brush strokes having escaped from their palettes. This lies at the heart of a collection which is wholly urban, boasting – it would seem – all the modern classics. Cable knit jumpers, duffle coats, leather jackets, bombers and black military boots. Thus the image created is instantly very believable, which is what we tend to be wanting from fashion at the moment. In a sense, it is all very real. Real translates as relatable, which ultimately reads as covetable. A good job well done then.