Kris Van Assche by Andrea Mastrovito

Kris Van Assche has been known to take an unconventional approach to his advertising campaigns [as we will discover more of later in the month], and for the current season imagery he has opted for an illustrated narrative rather than a photographic portfolio.

For Fall Winter 2009, Kris Van Assche commissioned Italian artist Andrea Mastrovito to realise his collection as one man’s journey through a natural and built environment, in black and white pencil drawings on A4 paper. Tethering the sun like a balloon on a kite-string, fighting with serpents in the forest, chased by black bats in the city, and leafing through a newspaper as flowers blow away on pages in the breeze – Kris’s character is a wandering man, toying with nature as it plays with him too.

In the illustrations, Mastrovito depicts the travelling muse wearing long cotton shirts, wrapped coats and a hooded cape, dark blazers, hi-top sneakers and boots from the runway collection. With messy cropped hair, a beard and moustache, he is masculine and somewhat wild – though with a disheveled elegance to his outfits that speaks Kris’s aesthetic with purity and ease. There is even a baseball cap thrown in for good measure.