Kris Van Assche (born 12 May 1976) is a Belgian

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

. He was the creative director of

Berluti Berluti is a French leather maker that manufactures menswear, especially the leather finishing of calfskin, kangaroo leather and alligator skin in its production of shoes and boots. It makes leather belts, bags, and wallets, as well as bespoke ...

(2018-2021), a luxury leather brand owned by

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

, and artistic director for Dior Homme from 2007 to 2018.

Early life and education

Van Assche grew up an only child in

Londerzeel Londerzeel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Londerzeel proper, Malderen, Steenhuffel (home of Palm Breweries) and Sint-Jozef. On 1 January 2018, Londerzeel had a to ...

, in Belgium’s Flemish-speaking region, between Antwerp and Brussels. He studied women’s wear at the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1994 to 1998.

Career

Early career

After graduating Van Assche moved to Paris in 1998. He was immediately appointed at Yves Saint Laurent as

Hedi Slimane Hedi Slimane (; born July 5, 1968) is a French photographer and couturier. From 2000 to 2007, he was the creative director for Dior Homme (the menswear line of Christian Dior). From 2012 to 2016, he was the creative director for Yves Saint La ...

's first assistant for the Rive Gauche Homme line. The collaboration with Slimane continued at

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

for the launching and development of the Dior Homme collection until September 2004. In January 2005, Van Assche finally presented his own men's collection for the first time in Paris during Men's Fashion Week.

KRISVANASSCHE, 2005–2015

In addition to his work at Dior, Van Assche founded his own label in 2005. In June 2013, he opened the first KRISVANASSCHE boutique in Paris. Designed by Ciguë, it was located in the 1st arrondissement, at 16 rue Saint Roch. In 2012 and 2013, KRISVANASSCHE teamed up with American denim brand

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

to produce two capsule collections. In late May 2015, after several years of collections often judged as irrelevant by the critics and a style outdated by the new Londoner designers (such as

JW Anderson JW Anderson is a UK fashion label, founded by Jonathan Anderson. Anderson, who is originally from Magherafelt in Northern Ireland established JW Anderson in 2008 and subsequently launched his fashion house in London. The brand initially focused ...

or Christopher Shannon), Van Assche announced that he was closing his personal label for the time being, due to the difficulties of being an independent label.

Dior Homme, 2007–2018

Van Assche subsequently served as the artistic director for

Dior Homme Dior Homme is the menswear division of Christian Dior SA, the French clothing retailer. Dior Homme named Jonathan Anderson as creative director on April 17, 2025 following his exit from Loewe. History During the 1980s and 1990s Dior's men ...

from April 2007 to March 2018.

Berluti, 2018–2021

In April 2018, Van Assche was confirmed as the new creative director at luxury brand

, another LVMH company, following the departure of Haider Ackermann. His debut Berluti collection was released January 2019. For the 2019 Design Miami fair, Van Assche joined forces with art dealer François Laffanour to present a collection of 17 original

Pierre Jeanneret Pierre Jeanneret (22 March 1896 – 4 December 1967) was a Swiss architect who collaborated with his cousin, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (who assumed the pseudonym Le Corbusier), for about twenty years. Early life Arnold-André-Pierre Jean ...

furniture pieces, restored by Laffanour and upholstered with Berluti’s emblematic Venezia leather. On 21 April 2021, Kris Van Assche announced on his Instagram that his departure from the brand as its artistic director. He also said that during 3 years time in

had been extremely intense especially in

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

period.

Later career

In 2021, Van Assche became a mentor of the Master in Creative Direction at

Polimoda Ente per le Arti applicate alla Moda e al Costume abbreviated as Polimoda is a private fashion school in Florence, capital of Tuscany, Italy. The school was originally founded by Shirley Goodman, the former Executive Vice President Emeritus at Fa ...

fashion school in Florence, Italy. In 2022, Van Assche created a collection for Chinese kidswear company Balabala, with products for girls and boys ages three to 14.

Style

Van Assche's style icons are

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

, for his classic coats and eccentric manner;

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylised blend of dance move ...

, who wore boots for dancing; and

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

and

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

Personal life

Van Assche lives in Paris and has two Siamese cats, named Frida (born in 2013) and Diego after

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

and

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

. He speaks fluent French, Dutch and English.

References

External links

Kris Van Assche
Official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Assche, Kris 1976 births Living people Belgian fashion designers LGBTQ fashion designers High fashion brands Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) alumni Dior people