Portrait.
Jude Law wears his pieces, and Brad Pitt loved his accessories. With barely more than 4 collections, the name of this Belgian designer (29 years old only) is on every lips.
KVA, yet nicknamed, is said to bring back "some interest in men fashion".
His vision of his fashion is as followed : trying to make men more beautiful, more elegant without avoiding them to be masculine. The recipe of his success : hasard, lots of seriousness and an incredible talent.
KVA was not meant to work for the fashion industry. Born in Belgium, he was the single child of a simple family. His grand-mother had a certain sense of fashion and refinement. She simply loved beautiful things. At the age of 12, he experienced a revelation. As a Madonna fan (like any designers we might say...) he went to one of her show from the "Blond Ambition Tour". The costumes of that show were designed by Jean Paul Gaultier as we all know. From that moment on, working as a fashion designer became clearer for him :" I had the choice to become Madonna, or Jean Paul Gaultier". He chose the second option.
At the age of 18 he entered the Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts which had already formed Dries Van Noten or Ann Demeulemeester. For him it was then the end of loneliness, and those four years would mean freedom, happiness and hard work of course. Besides his teachers said that he was too serious. First rule for him : elegance ranks above extravagance.
DR Hedi Slimane
After his final school show, he was proposed a défilé for YSL. Not very keen on "designing ties all day long" he decides to accept, Paris being an interesting city for him. His meeting with Hedi Slimane was decisive in his growing process. The first 6 months of internship had become 6 years of close collaboration as first assistant of the master Slimane, who convinced him to continue the adventure for Dior Homme. On his sides, he learned precision and understood that precision, clacissism, which was once reproached to him, could become an asset. After this long collaboration with Slimane, he decided to launch his own brand. He managed to convince a team of 15 collaborators from designers, to marketing managers. His company was set up !
He observes men so as to design an elegant silhouette, full of small poetic details that make the difference. Dignity, ambiguity, between strengh and vulnerabilty, old allure and modern accessories are the words to describe his style. His style is described by himslef as "a bad shaved elegance".
Then there is no wonder that Bernard Arnault decided to chose him as the new artistic designer for Dior Homme after Hedi Slimane left (apparently due to the strong desire of Slimane to set up his own brand...also because he was asking too much money...)
Anyway, KVA is set to impose his own vision of men fashion and therefore leaves Slimane to express his art at a different level. Indeed not only is Slimane a fashion designer, a revolutionary of men fashion that even women want to wear what he designs, but also an architecture amateur (Bauhaus always inspired his clothes in their shapes), a photograph and a contemporary artist.
On top of that... David Bowie's designer. Then he can only have my admiration and respect.
More info on :
Hedi Slimane
www.hedislimane.com
www.hedislimane.com/diary
www.myspace.com/hedislimaneofficial
Kris Van Assche
www.krisvanassche.com
www.diorhomme.com
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