In a massive show venue south of the river Seine, Kris van Assche took command over the Paris Menswear spotlight. With his steady hands he guided us through a predominately black colour palette. Leather bags and canvas aprons were attached to models. The silhouette was loose and comfortable through van Assche’s signature harem trousers and the voluminous tops that were tucked into some of them.

Looking closer, several waistcoats sported contrast stitching, and tailored jackets were either without buttons or had zips instead. Grey was his secondary shade. Jersey sweats and biker coats came in that colour, while white trousers and tops had been spattered with black paint. Kris van Assche presented a strong and focused collection, which built on his trusted aesthetic details but also saw try his hands at a few new tricks in the sartorial handbook.

Dazed Digital: What was the deal with all the shirts with black splatter?
Kris van Assche: It was all about work wear and men that actually use their hands to work. I always have a touch of reality in my clothes, even my first collection had mechanics elements in it and now, 12 shows later, it’s still about men at work.

DD: Where did you look for inspiration?
Kris van Assche: I love Richard Avedon’s book ‘In The American West’ where all the workmen in front a white wall.

DD: Some of your jackets had no buttons, others were closed with zips; tired of buttons?
Kris van Assche: I like the hybrid element when you don’t really know if a garment is a jacket, a sports jacket or even a shirt. It feels modern like that.

DD: Favourite pice?
Kris van Assche: The guess the first and last look sums up the collection: the leather jacket, cargo pants and the last one had a clean white shirt but with a trashed up trench coat.

DD: Many sleeves seemed to have been cut off…
Kris van Assche: I usually roll the sleeves up but this time we chopped them off instead!