Kris Van Assche

Kris Van Assche (born 12 May 1976) is a Belgian fashion designer. He was the creative director of Berluti (2018-2021), a luxury leather brand owned by LVMH, and artistic director for Dior Homme from 2007 to 2018.

Kris Van Assche
Born (1976-05-12) 12 May 1976
Londerzeel, Belgium
EducationKoninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, Fashion and Design
Labels

Early life and education

Van Assche grew up an only child in Belgium’s Flemish-speaking region of Londerzeel, between Antwerp and Brussels.[1] He studied women’s wear at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts, in Antwerp from 1994 to 1998.

Career

Early career

After graduating Van Assche moved to Paris in 1998. He was immediately appointed at Yves Saint Laurent as Hedi Slimane's first assistant for the Rive Gauche Homme line.

The collaboration with Slimane continued at Christian Dior for the launching and development of the Dior Homme collection until September 2004. In January 2005, Van Assche finally presented his own men's collection for the first time in Paris during Men's Fashion Week.

KRISVANASSCHE, 2005–2015

In addition to his work at Dior, Van Assche founded his own label in 2005. In June 2013, he opened the first KRISVANASSCHE boutique in Paris.[2] Designed by Ciguë, it was located in the 1st arrondissement, at 16 rue Saint Roch.[3]

In 2012 and 2013, KRISVANASSCHE teamed up with American denim brand Lee to produce two capsule collections.[4]

In late May 2015, after several years of collections often judged as irrelevant by the critics[5] and a style outdated by the new Londoner designers (such as JW Anderson or Christopher Shannon), Van Assche announced that he was closing his personal label for the time being,[6] due to the difficulties of being an independent label.[7]

Dior Homme, 2007–2018

Van Assche subsequently served as the artistic director for Dior Homme from April 2007[8] to March 2018.[9]

Berluti, 2018–2021

In April 2018, Van Assche was confirmed as the new creative director at luxury brand Berluti, another LVMH company, following the departure of Haider Ackermann.[10] His debut Berluti collection was released January 2019.[11][12]

For the 2019 Design Miami fair, Van Assche joined forces with art dealer François Laffanour to present a collection of 17 original Pierre Jeanneret furniture pieces, restored by Laffanour and upholstered with Berluti’s emblematic Venezia leather.[13]

On 21 April 2021, Kris Van Assche announced on his Instagram that his departure from the brand as its artistic director.[14] He also said that during 3 years time in Berluti had been extremely intense especially in COVID-19 pandemic period.

In 2021, Van Assche became Mentor of the Master in Creative Direction at Polimoda fashion school in Florence, Italy.[15]

Style

Van Assche's style icons are Jean Cocteau, for his classic coats and eccentric manner; Pina Bausch, who wore boots for dancing; and Sean Penn and Johnny Depp.

Personal life

Van Assche lives in Paris and has two Siam cats, named Frida (born in 2013) and Diego after Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.[16] He speaks fluent French, Dutch and English.

References
  1. Natalia Rachlin (29 November 2019),  T: The New York Times Style Magazine.
  2. Nick Carvell. "Talking shop with Kris Van Assche".
  3. Josh Davis (11 June 2013). "KRISVANASSCHE To Open First Boutique in Paris".
  4. Matt Sebra (28 January 2013), First Look: Kris Van Assche x Lee Spring 2013 GQ.
  5. Suzy Menkes (29 June 2012). "Beauty From the Bellicose". The New York Times.
  6. Miles Socha (28 May 2015). "Kris Van Assche Shutters Own Label".
  7. Lauren Milligan (28 May 2015). "Kris Van Assche Closes Label".
  8. Eric Wilson (March 30, 2007), Dior Replaces Its Men’s Wear Designer New York Times.
  9. Sarah White (March 19, 2018), LVMH's Christian Dior says menswear designer Van Assche to leave Reuters.
  10. Sudip Kar-Gupta (April 3, 2018), LVMH names Van Assche as new Berluti artistic director Reuters.
  11. "Kris Van Assche On His Debut At Berluti". British Vogue. 18 January 2019.
  12. "Kris Van Assche is luxury menswear's hopeful romantic". Document Journal. May 10, 2019.
  13. Nick Vinson (November 8, 2019), Berluti delivers colour and care to revive Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh furniture Wallpaper.
  14. "@kris_van_assche on Instagram: "AFTER 3 YEARS AT @berluti , I AM ANNOUNCING MY DEPARTURE FROM THE BRAND AS ITS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR. THESE 3 YEARS AT BERLUTI HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY INTENSE. REINVENTING AND RESHAPING THE BRAnd's DNA, ITS HISTORY AND TRADITION, CRAFT AND LUXURY IN a CONTEMPORARY AND CREATIVE MANNER WAS DEFINITELY a CHALLENGE, AND ALL LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS AROUND COVID DIdn't HELP. SO I WANT TO EXPRESS ENDLESS GRATITUDE TO MY CREATIVE TEAM FOR ALWAYS DELIVERING MIRACLES, NO MATTER WHAT. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID, HOW YOU HAD TO DO IT, AND YOU CAN BE PROUD. I SURE AM PROUD OF YOU, OF US. WHILE @berluti WILL BE TAKING a NEW APPROACH TO ITS COLLECTIONS AND CALENDAR, I FEEL GRATEFUL FOR ALL I HAVE LEARNED AND LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR ME. THOUGH I WILL BE FINISHING SOME PROJECTS IN COMING WEEKS, I WILL NOT BE PRESENTING a NEW COLLECTION FOR THE BRAND. LAST WEek's REVEAL OF THE "LIVING APART TOGETHER " COLLECTION WILL BE MY LAST. LOVE, Kris #krisvanassche #kris_van_assche"".
  15. "Kris Van Assche Appointed Mentor of Creative Direction". Polimoda. 9 September 2021.
  16. Evans, Christina Ohly (September 11, 2015). "Kris Van Assche talks personal taste: Part Two". howtospendit.ft.com.

Further reading
  • Johnston, Robert (November 5, 2012). "The Artist". British GQ. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
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