Kris Van Assche
REVIEW
COMPLETE COLLECTION
PARIS, January 18, 2008
By
The rows of washing machines lining the walls of the venue excited a modicum of curiosity, especially given that Kris Van Assche had let it be known his collection was based on the clothes he would save if his house was on fire. In other words, his favorite pieces. Fire and water—would they produce steam heat? Well, no, because Kris' favorites were very much like the items that many young men fancy in their daily dress: worn denims, a jean shirt, plaids, a parka. Van Assche being a fashion designer, there were things that weren't quite so prosaic, like the black velvet jumpsuit that accompanied a gray wool blazer, or the scarf that doubled as a waistcoat (worn with distinctly designer gray flannel combats), but he mostly opted for the casual over the conceptual, which was an improvement over earlier presentations where his Grand Statements tended to trip him up.So casual was the styling, in fact, that trouser legs often caught on boots and the tech high-tops that were the primary foot look. One leg up, one leg down used to be ghetto code for an illegal activity, but Van Assche claimed it was all about "getting ready in two minutes." He did, however, amplify the effect with a curious hitched ankle on some of his pants. "Élégance mal rasée—unshaven elegance—was the designer's own tag for outfits that combined a tux jacket with black cords, or a shawl-collared jacket in glen plaid with jeans. Such mash-ups are scarcely anything new (there's a definite Marc Jacobs edge to them), but word of mouth suggests that Van Assche has managed to connect them to a style-hungry audience all his own—so why did he send out a T-shirt with the surly slogan "Fuck You All"?
By the way, the models stripped at the finale and threw their clothes in the washing machines. No time for dry cleaning.
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