Luxury and austerity: These are the poles around which Kris Van Assche structures his world. His expansive white set for Dior Homme s show today suggested a gorgeous apartment, expensive but empty. A few flickering fireplaces and crystal chandeliers set the scene. P. Diddy, seated front-row center, could have used it for a music video set.
Then, the clothes. The palette (chocolate, gray, black, and small doses of red); the lack of ornamentation; the long, unbroken lines—they all suggested Van Assche s almost monastic attachment to restraint. Add the wide-brimmed hats of quasi-Amish mien (yes, the Pennsylvania Dutch and their brethren are officially a Fall 2011 trend), and you couldn t miss it. This isn t a new preoccupation. The invitation to last season s show read "lessness."
So is less more? The fluid silhouette is an interesting proposition. "After summer, which was really very fluid, it was a challenge to make a winter season seem fluid," Van Assche said after the show. "Obviously, materials are thicker and are layered." His solution was to use double-faced cashmere knits to add difference without weight or bulk. He introduced long, sinuous coats and robes in monochrome layers, and soft, wide pants. Even if it s been slightly liquefied, "it s a very classic vocabulary," the designer added. "All the elements are there."
There s a quiet loveliness in the thin-lapel blazers and the double-faced coats. The danger with all that fluidity, especially when it s paraded on the the slimmest and youngest the male-model world has to offer, is that eventually you start to yearn for a bit more crispness and bite. Maybe that s why there was something winning about the fine-gauge sweaters unraveling slightly at the neck. They looked as if someone had been gnawing on them.
