Archive note: This newly written account revisits Kris Van Assche and an earlier Grandpa Style fashion editorial. It uses surviving credits and interviews published in 2014; it does not reproduce the original article or photographs.
The Grandpa Style connection
A useful starting point is KVA by Matin Zad, published by Fucking Young! on 27 February 2014. Its credits identify Matin Zad as photographer, Raul Guerrero as stylist, and David Hlinka and Rory Buckley as the models. The clothing is credited to KRISVANASSCHE, with a link to Grandpa Style’s earlier designer entry.
That record preserves a specific collaboration: a designer’s clothes interpreted through styling, casting and photography. It gives this archive entry a more precise starting point than a general designer biography. It does not establish that the original page contained an interview with Van Assche.
An independent label between dress and sport
Van Assche’s own label explored the relationship between formal clothing and sportswear. In Tempe Nakiska’s April 2014 interview for HERO, he explained the contrasting references behind his Spring/Summer 2014 collection, Cognac Sport.
Polka dots and crocodile references suggested familiar ideas of masculine elegance; green tones and windbreaker influences brought in the energy of sportswear. The collection included green tailoring, patterned shirts and sneakers. Rather than keeping those wardrobes separate, he described combining them within the clothes themselves.
This interview provides context for the label’s thinking at the time. It does not identify the season of the garments in the Grandpa Style editorial.
A separate conversation at Dior Homme
His work for Dior Homme belongs to a related but distinct story. Speaking to Marta Represa for AnOther in July 2014 about Dior Homme’s Summer 2015 collection, Van Assche discussed tailoring through different shapes, volumes and styles. He described addressing both classic tastes and more experimental approaches to dress.
The collection also drew on a letter by Christian Dior, using its handwriting in prints. Here, tradition became material to work with. Keeping the two labels distinct matters: the surviving Grandpa Style credit names KRISVANASSCHE, not Dior Homme.
Reading the archive today
Our reading of these sources is to look beyond whether an outfit is formal or casual. Ask where its structure comes from, which details suggest sport, and how styling changes the relationship between them. These are ways to examine the work, rather than rules attributed to the designer.
Continue with Raul Guerrero and creative collaboration, explore another tailoring project in The Suit: HVRMINN, or browse the Archive.