Mood board: Flashes of New Wave and a sportif élan are at the core of everything Kris van Assche does. During his nine-year tenure at Dior, he has created a language that is always athletic in its approach to formal tailoring and modern with its play on traditional craftsmanship techniques. For S/S, Assche focused on his formative years in a collection that embodied ‘a remix of shared boyhood memories.’ The textile suggested clothes that might have been once lost or loved – pinstripes were interrupted and frayed, knits were scarred and houndstooth blurred. Japanese artist Toru Kamei’s arcane floral paintings appeared as patches on sleeveless shirts and slim trousers, as if markings of a misspent youth.
Best in show: Assche talked backstage about a cocktail of style tribes he explored growing up in rural Belgium. Punk, New Wave and New Romanticism have each influenced this season’s playful polish. The silhouette is more relaxed and richly offhand; new proportions for suiting such as jogging or wide-legged trousers with work-wear pocket detailing were paired with smart two-button jackets.
Scene setting: The attitude of Haçienda youth pumped throughout the industrial space at the Tennis Club de Paris. Guests were seated around a sprawling mass of rollercoaster tracks, festooned with coloured lights in a set that was said to be a direct replica of a ride that once stood at Sinksenfoor Antwerp – a traditional Belgian fairground.
INFORMATION
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
-
Louise Giovanelli pulls back the curtain on spectacle and suspense at The Hepworth Wakefield'Louise Giovanelli: A Song of Ascents' is at The Hepworth Wakefield from 23 November 2024 - 27 April 2025
-
High jewellery is given a literary twist in Van Cleef & Arpels' new Treasure Island-inspired collectionVan Cleef & Arpels look to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure story for a high jewellery collection in three parts
-
Design Miami 2024 is alive with possibility: here are 13 things to seeDesign Miami 2024 opens 4-8 December – let Wallpaper* guide you to the highlights, from dazzling installations to plump sofas and anthropomorphic sculptures
-
Summer games, from pétanque to pool floats, get a fashionable spinFrom a luxurious pétanque set to pool floats and playing cards, summer games and toys from the world’s best-known fashion houses
-
‘Modern beauty’: Pieter Mulier on his new vision for AlaïaAs creative director of Alaïa, Belgian designer Pieter Mulier honours the timeless vision of the maison’s founder while rewriting the past anew. Here, speaking to Jack Moss, he tells the story behind his first year at the house
-
Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France FemmesMarking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
-
Mariella Bettineschi’s feminist artworks survey guests at Dior A/W 2022 showAs guests gathered at Dior’s A/W 2022 womenswear show venue in Paris, sets of duplicated eyes stared down at them from the artworks of Mariella Bettineschi
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from A/W 2022 menswear showsA Kubrickian space odyssey at Prada; a recreation of the Pont Alexandre III in Paris at Dior; and colourful, artist-created flags at Loewe: explore the best runway sets from the A/W 2022 menswear shows
-
Dior recreates Paris bridge, Pont Alexandre III, for A/W 2022 showDior recreated Paris’ landmark bridge, Pont Alexandre III, for its A/W 2022 menswear show, which took place on 21 January 2022, the date of Christian Dior’s birthday
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2022: Louis Vuitton to Loewe, Dior to HermèsIn this extended report, Laura Hawkins reveals 9 highlights from Paris Fashion Week Men's A/W 2022. Including: Virgil Abloh's final collection for Louis Vuitton; Rick Owen's riff on sleaze; elfin-inspired accessories; and a celebration of slouch and surrealism
