Kris Van Assche’s spring/summer 18 collection was a tribute to the optimism and innocence of youth. His starting point was the rebellion, romance and abandon of late-teenage years, that turning point in which you’re suddenly free to push boundaries, explore the world, sneak out, go to clubs, discover life, stay up all night, watch the sun rise in the morning.
Alongside this nostalgic sense of freedom and coming-of-age exploration, Kris couldn’t escape the socio-political climate of now, and he began to draw comparisons with the current opportunism that has followed the political rise of France’s new president, Emmanuel Macron. “It kind of freaked me out that we nearly ended up with Marine Le Pen as president. There was Brexit and Trump and we could have been next. I was very scared,” Kris Van Assche said to i-D’s Anders Christian Madsen before the show. “And then all of a sudden this 39-year-old guy comes out of nowhere and he’s doing what’s now become the French dream. I’m not saying he’ll be the perfect president, but it does make you believe that if you work hard you can still get somewhere. There’s a very positive energy.”
And it’s that positive energy Kris found and focussed on this season. Always looking back to the past to find inspirational routes to navigate the future with; from Christian Dior’s Bar Jacket to continuing his take on subcultural codes of masculine dress. It was a tribute to the past and the future.
Captured on film, after the show, by Nicolas Santos and Mauricio Nardi, fall inside the collection’s romantic youthfulness. Set to a minimal synth-pop beat, the visual revels in darkness and light, clashing classic Diorisms with Kris’ innocent and youthful exuberance.
Credits
Text Felix Petty