Kris Van Assche

How was it to start again on a fashion design project? It’s been four years since you left Berluti. Did you have trouble getting the hang of it again?

No, I was really looking forward to starting this role at Antazero. To be honest, I ended up in quite a big black hole after my twenty-year rollercoaster working in fashion – I’m not going to lie about that. I was going through major withdrawal symptoms. First I decided to make a book about the 55 collections I made for my own label KRISVANASSCHE, Dior and Berluti, which kept me busy for a year because I’ve been terrible at archiving my work. So I spent a whole year tracking down the photographers, getting all the permissions and stuff. Which was also a lot of fun, because people were excited about the book. And it really helped me to figure out who I was.

What did you find out?

I’ve had three jobs that were so different, which made it difficult for me to think what I’d want to do next. But by processing my archive I realised that I’m actually always the same designer, whether I’m working with small budgets for my own label, or with a mammoth like Dior, or with Berluti, where everything was much more artisanal. And I realised that sitting here at home alone in my office isn’t much fun. I really want to work with people. That’s how I ended up making vases with Serax. I love flowers and I have ideas for vases, and enjoy working with specialists in marble, concrete or porcelain. And I really love going on the four-hour train ride to the east of France and work with bronze smiths for the vessels I made with Gallerie Downtown. All this doesn’t mean that I don’t like fashion anymore…

Cue your new endeavour.

Exactly. Antazero is a very clear project. It’s the baby brother of Anta, which is this huge Chinese sportswear brand. At first Antazero was their name for all things sustainable that Anta was producing. Then I joined in January of this year, and we designed this dedicated collection, so in that sense it’s completely new.

But it’s not literally sportswear, is it?

When they approached me, I was like, yeah, if you want a performance designer, I’m really not the right person. I’m not going to design an aerodynamic suit that will win you the Olympics. You need other people for that. But they really wanted the meeting point between my world and their world. And maybe you remember, the very first look I showed for my own label in 2005 was a tailored suit with sneakers, so there’s a connection. I feel I can really express myself where urban and sports meet. Take this beautiful coat in the collection, made of double faced jersey, completely heat-sealed on the inside. I mean, it looks like a cashmere coat, but it’s a sweatshirt jersey. I had never worked with a sportswear giant that has these kinds of resources and expertise. If I ask for vegan leather, I receive countless samples, because as a company Anta really do have that kind of reach.

Isn’t it the eternal dilemma with sustainability that the best thing to do is to not make anything at all?

Obviously, the best thing you can do for the sake of sustainability is to die, so to speak. But if it’s about making new products, then Antazero does it in the cleanest way possible. The vegan leather is mushroom-based. It’s carbon-negative and animal-free. The jersey fibres are biodegradable. The nylons are recycled. I mean, this is a mass market brand with 6,000 stores in China, and they take what they do very seriously.

Since you’ve not worked for a while, was it hard to compile a team around you?

My husband Mauricio is always part of my team. He styles and consults on whatever I do, he always dots the i’s and crosses the t’s. And I have another assistant who I also worked with at Berluti, and he happens to speak Chinese, which is very convenient for the Antazero project.

Do you ever buy new clothes for yourself or have you accumulated enough fashion for a lifetime?

Of course my closets are bursting at the seams, but I don’t think a designer can wear his own old clothes indefinitely. You outgrow them – not so much physically, but just the fact that if you make two or four or six or eight collections a year, it’s because you always see room for improvement. You want things differently, you want things new.

What have you bought recently?

This summer we went on holiday to Pantellaria, where Mr. Armani had a house, and somehow it made me want to wear suits with a good shoulder and a good pleated pant. That ‘American Gigolo’ vibe.

And where did you find them?

I’ll tell you off the record.

Would you ever be up for a big design job again?

Yes, I’d love that. But other than what I did at Dior or Berluti, I wouldn’t throw myself exclusively into one job one thousand per cent again. I would make sure that I keep a variety of creative expressions, such as my collection for Antazero or my projects for Serax. I’m not saying I have regrets; I have only good memories. Working with Dior for 11 years was amazing. Berluti was amazing. It didn’t last that long, sadly, but I think I made my best clothes there.

It’s interesting that you say that. Most creatives would say that their latest project is the best thing they ever did.

But the best with Antazero is yet to come, just wait for the next collection! It’s hard to compare working with a luxury brand and luxury manufacturers to Antazero, which is ten times more affordable. The double-faced coat that I mentioned may cost you €350. It would have been 20 times that in my previous life.

Speaking of a previous life: when we interviewed you for Fantastic Man in 2009 you said that you took a bath every morning. Do you still do that?

I don’t! Obviously, people can change. And I’ve also become a bit more sustainable.