FASHION

BACKSTAGE AT DIOR HOMME FALL WINTER 2017/18 PARIS

By Crash redaction

WHEN NEW WAVE MEETS RAVE AT DIOR HOMME FALL-WINTER 2017/18

With Kris Van Assche at the helm, every Dior Homme season is full of surprises. By playing with the codes, the artistic director of the men’s line shows just what menswear can be at a large luxury house like Dior. Here, he imagines a collection inspired by raves with a Hardcore soundtrack that inspired a splendid neologism: HarDior.

By playing with contrasts, Kris Van Assche reinvents traditional male tailoring and adds a touch of new wave: from the top, a fitted jacket with three-quarter sleeves and leather gloves blends into the sportier look seen below, with baggy pants short enough to reveal a glimpse of sports socks and sneakers.

Presented to the deafening sounds of thumping techno, the collection opens under the gothic and new wave atmosphere cherished by the Belgian designer. The start of his runway show features Kris Van Assche’s favorite colors – black, red, and white – which gradually morph into more acidic colors: coats in bright orange or cyan shearling.

Other items feature prints by American artist Dan Witz and inspired by the phenomenon of the mosh pit: the hardcore cousin of the pogo, which translates all the crowd’s youthful energy and violence, while also manifesting the resurgence of animal instinct. In this way, Kris Van Assche offers a profound work of research and reference centered on the concept and subculture of hardcore.

Summing up the spirit of the show, a knit jersey with the portrait of Christian Dior reads: « They should just let us rave. » At a time when tailoring has cast a long shadow across the fashion runway, Kris Van Assche demonstrates how this same spirit can rhyme with modernity, subculture, and freedom.

www.dior.com

Written by Lisa Tomasi