The ultimate exercise in formality, Kris Van Assche's A/W15 collection for Dior Homme saw his boys dressed in an assortment of thoroughly decorous attire. From full tuxedos to black leather sweatpants, the collection was an investigation into propriety – as Van Assche explained, "I looked at the idea of the sartorial – particularly the formality of the evening suit – and decided to bring it more towards the technical and practical."
In spite of an abundance of monochrome, the palette of blacks and browns was not without flashes of colour - bursts of yellow towards the show's close, and badges made from pressed flowers pinned onto lapels spoke towards the brand's history. "I wanted to continue the dialogue with Mr Dior and wanted to view him and this new figure of contemporary elegance as the flower man – the homme fleur." And it was a modern version of tradition that was established; "I had in mind a character – a kind of man who is likely to ride his bicycle to the opera house, wearing formal evening suiting. He moves, he rides bikes, he has that energy and the technical aspect of the collection gives him that freedom."
To sum up? Well, nobody could put it better than Van Assche himself. "Techno-sartorial, Homme Fleur," he proclaims. Sounds almost as good as it looks.
