"Legacy" is a loaded word in the fashion industry. Baton-passing inevitably leaves the newcomer trying to balance firmly established loyalties and expectations with his or her own ethos. The death or retirement of the marquee name makes things a little easier, but Hedi Slimane is far from dead or retired in the conventional sense. He was the elephant in the elegant rooms of the nineteenth-century mansion on Avenue Foch, where Kris Van Assche showed his debut collection for Dior Homme. Slimane made the label a byword for a look as impactfully new in its own way as Christian s 1947 original. His successor offered three tableaux—the mannequins frozen stiff in poses that were perverse reminders of Irving Penn s classic group shot of couture models—representing options for morning, day, and evening. The artificiality of at least two of those distinctions made for plenty of crossover, especially when Van Assche s key look was so inescapable: body-hugging white shirt with tiny Peter Pan collar tucked into pants of a volume surpassing enough to evoke memories of MC Hammer. (One pair for evening devolved from high-waisted flat-front to a cascade of pleats.) The designer s affection for the eighties was also evident in double-breasted jackets with an asymmetrical one-button closing. They were reminiscent of the New Wave brand Parachute. Another tricksy feature was a jacket lapel with an origami fold. But interspersed with these indulgences were sober, sleek suits with a little peaked lapel. This duality loaned Van Assche s debut a somewhat schizo feel, which means things could go off in any direction. Is that promise for the future? We live in hope.
