Launching today on thecorner.com, KRISVANASSCHE is debuting the essential tuxedo for the winter season. i-D spoke to Kris about his versatile take on the tuxedo, and shot it on four different boys in four different ways.
Click images to enlarge.
Few menswear designers philosophise about the man’s wardrobe quite like Kris Van Assche. An essentialist at heart, the Belgian designer – who heads up both his own label KRISVANASSCHE and Dior Homme – fuses daywear, formalwear and sportswear into pieces which become as universal as the men who are meant to wear them. For the darkest weeks of the winter season, KRISVANASSCHE has collaborated with thecorner.com on a special edition navy tuxedo, featuring a two-button jacket with a black satin collar and navy pleated trousers with a black waistband and black satin stripes. Showing the versatility of the tuxedo, i-D online shot it on four boys – all tipped for greatness come the men’s shows – in four different ways, and caught up with Kris Van Assche to get his two cents on the tuxedo.
Why did you choose to do a tuxedo for thecorner.com? The idea was to propose something ‘exclusive’, very different from my KRISVANASSCHE collection. Tuxedos are worn on special occasions and therefore the concept of exclusiveness makes sense.
How did you approach this tuxedo? I always approach side projects in the same way as the rest of the collection; they complete the wardrobe of the imaginary man I have in mind. The ‘ideal KRISVANASSCHE man’ is never totally classic and never totally sportswear. He likes a beautiful suit but insists on being comfortable. He likes to be able to go anywhere at any time, without taking the risk of being ‘over’ or ‘under’ dressed. This tuxedo therefore takes some influences from sportswear jackets that make it less formal.
Are there any particular historical tuxedos or tuxedo-wearing men that stand out to you? Most images that stand out were tuxedos worn by women…
Where did you get your first tuxedo from? I got a tuxedo from my first Dior Homme collection. I had worked around a presentation of ‘morning’, ‘day’ and ‘evening’ wear, presented in three ‘tableaux’.
Do you think a tuxedo is an essential part of a man’s wardrobe? It really depends on the man; on some it really does look too precious. This ‘sportswear’ version is therefore a nice alternative.
The world of black tie comes with so much dandy gear. Are you into all these things or do you find them fussy? Again, it really depends on who we talk about. I do not have the habit of working these elements at KRISVANASSCHE where I like to think of my man as being ‘ruggedly’ elegant, not too fussy…. This tuxedo version is really toned down.
How strictly do you follow dress codes for events? I rarely go to events with strict dress codes. They freak me out. But when I need to, I always try to get away with the toned down version…
The KRISVANASSCHE tuxedo is available exclusively on thecorner.com
krisvanassche.com
thecorner.com
Text: Anders Christian Madsen
Photography: Amarpaul Kalirai
Styling: Madeleine Østlie
Hair: Jose Quijano
Photography Assistance: James King
Models: Anders Hayward, Conor Doherty, and Matthew Bell; all at Elite London, and Ben Allen at Select Model Management.
