As Creative Director Kris Van Assche combed the Dior archives, he stumbled upon a wonderfully relevant letter, written by Christian Dior during the 1950s. The letter reads, “It is necessary to maintain traditions for them to be transmitted to the generations that follow. In troubled times such as ours we must maintain these traditions, which are our luxury, and the flower of our civilization.”
From this quote, the Dior Homme spring/summer 2015 collection began to emerge, with Assche seeking to design in dialogue with Mr. Dior. The collection reinvigorates the spirit of Christian Dior, rekindling the visionary’s fondness for formality while maintaining a beachy calm.
The collection begins with The Man in the Navy Pinstripe Suit, the elegant, though clichéd bourgeois businessman. However, these traditional pinstripes are soon deconstructed and reinterpreted into broken lines, nautical Breton stripes, Mr. Dior’s handwriting, and even multicolored, childlike hearts.
Commencing with deep shades of navy and black, the collection expands to include bright whites, luminous yellows, and scarlet. In silhouette, the collection is loose, yet tailored, in both its luxurious knitwear and light, bohemian denim. Striped knit vests and t-shirts refresh classic suiting, providing a tasteful, but energetic contrast.
Assche explained, “Here the bourgeois meets the artist, but very much in the present day. There is still the idea of the Individual and human in this collection, together with the release and relaxation of getting away from it all, from the city to the sea.”
