Dior Homme A/W 2017

Kris Van Assche looked to music and moshpits for his youthful 'HarDior' collection

Models in font of a white wall in a row, black and red clothing with a couple wearing sunglasses
(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Mood board: Now in his tenth year at Dior Homme, Kris Van Assche made his own distinctive contribution to this season’s developing theme: a reconciliation between the atelier and the street. Ever mindful of the house’s inimitable founder, here Monsieur Dior’s lucky necklace was reinvented as a key chain. Assche’s teenage years were reflected too in the fitted cut of jackets and roomier trousers. The collection had splashes of new wave, ravers and gabber boys. ‘HarDior’ was emblazoned across the front of bucket caps and sweatshirts. It was both hard in mood and energy.

Best in show: Pinstripe cloth was used for utilitarian streetwear shapes. Suiting was youthful. As with last season, the clothes left the mark of their maker. Basting stitches on tailored jackets were multiplied and collaged. Another two-button jacket featured metal tacks, fanned across the front. There was a confidence and familiarity to the look.

Team work: New York-based artist Dan Witz’s hyper-real moshpit paintings featured prominently as a signal of the birth of HarDior style. One of the pioneers of the street art movement, Witz has been making work since the late 1970s. Like Assche, his influences come from music, especially the transgressive power of rock'n'roll. After a brief stint as a musician, Witz returned to making art fulltime, inspired by the epic scenes painted by Brueghel and Bosch. His ‘Moshpit’ series embodies the magnificent tension of being present in the moment yet totally abstracted from what is happening. His paintings were printed onto a number of looks, bursting with vigour. 

Dior Homme A/W 2017. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Three models in black clothing posing against a white backdrop

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Three models in orange and black clothing against a white backdrop

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Three models against a white backdrop two with bucket hats and one looking down at the floor

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

A group of models against a white backdrop in dark clothing

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.

Read more
Prada A/W 2025 menswear show at A/W 2025 Menswear Month
The Wallpaper* A/W 2025 menswear trend report
Saint Laurent A/W 2025 menswear show
Inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe, Saint Laurent’s surprise menswear show captured ‘a menacing, seductive elegance’
Hermès runway show at Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2025
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2025 highlights: Hermès to Lanvin
MM6 Maison Margiela AW25 Pitti Uomo 2025
At Pitti Uomo, guest designer MM6 Maison Margiela goes to the dark side
Chanel A/W 2025 runway show at Paris Fashion Week A/W 2025
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2025 highlights: Chanel to Saint Laurent
Prada A/W 2025 menswear runway show set featuring scaffolding and patterned carpet
Prada’s monumental scaffolding show set was an ‘exploration of contrasts’
Latest in Fashion & Beauty Events
Everything Must Change Sharna Osbourne Martine Rose Sadie Coles Film Exhibition
Martine Rose’s first gallery show celebrates the radical queer energy of Bronski Beat
Pharrell Williams takes bow at Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2025
Met Gala 2025 and ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ exhibition: everything we know so far
Vuitton Listing Image
Inside Louis Vuitton’s Murakami London pop-up, a colourful cartoon wonderland with one-of-a-kind café
Tatras Tokyo Ginza Store Interiors
Japanese outerwear label Tatras’ expansive new Tokyo store finds ‘beauty in contrast’
A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake fashion looks
Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UK
John Lobb Saint Crepin Brogue Shoes
These limited-edition John Lobb brogues pay ode to the patron saint of shoemaking
Latest in Feature
lean lui guide to hong kong
A local’s guide to Hong Kong, by photographer Lean Lui
people at watch show
What can we expect from Watches and Wonders 2025?
Perfume Genius Glory album artwork
Inside the visual universe of Perfume Genius
art works
Don’t miss these five artists at Art Basel Hong Kong
best hotels hong kong
Where to stay in Hong Kong
jewellery
Bold colours and tactile textures: inside Bottega Veneta's second fine jewellery drop