Kris Van Assche: Minimalism & Simplicity Turns Modern
By Mari Davis & Michelle Taylor
Photos by FW

PARIS, Jul 4, 2005/ FW/ --- The colorful budget shopping businesses along Boulevard de Rochechouart flourish on a Saturday afternoon, ironically upstairs in the old theatre Elysee Monmartre, Kris Van Assche gave a spring summer 2006 collection that saw minimalism and simplicity transformed into a modern menswear wardrobe.

After his debut last season, the young Belgian already has a following of which many may be envious, and with exits of uncomplicated comfortable Bermudas, singlets and striped shirts, the fan club is bound to grow.

An undertone of romantic passion spreads throughout the collection as Latin lover boys carry white and red carnations between their fingers as they wander in a dreamlike state to emotional serenades calling from the speakers.

Spanish conquistador boleros are contemporary and masculine worn with perhaps the best pair of genially pleated trousers seen this week, while military hints are sprinkled throughout in touches on shirt shoulders and aviator parachute pants.

Van Assche merges the sartorial with the unfussy as he plays with volume, waists are often elastic, shoes canvas and trousers comfortable. Knitwear is thin and cool for today’s gypsies that dress in a subtle color palette, offering only slight red tinges of obsession.

Evenings shimmer and are elegant when one carries a parasol and wears a waistcoat under a tuxedo. In an ode to love and the 1920’s Van Assche transforms the manly into a melancholy poet.

Kris Van Assche

Kris Van Assche

Kris Van Assche

Kris Van Assche