Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Kris Van Assche Unveils First Berluti Campaign

Berluti is sitting out the current men’s spring/summer 2019 show season in order to give Kris Van Assche time to settle in to his role as artistic director. The Belgian designer has today, however, hinted at the direction in which he will steer the house by unveiling his first campaign.

Shot by Jamie Hawkesworth and styled by Mauricio Nardi, the black-and-white images feature three nude models posing with three iterations of Berluti’s Alessandro Oxford shoes hanging around their necks and shoulders. A new logo designed by M/M Paris, which features cropped lettering referencing a carving etched into a Berluti shoe tree from 1895, overlays each portrait.

“For this first campaign, I wanted to create an image rooted in the maison’s origins and emboss it with my vision… See you in January,” Van Ascche commented on the imagery, which precedes his first show in January 2019.

Antoine Arnault, chief executive officer of Berluti, added: “This campaign was thought of and art-directed by Kris. I relate to it because it speaks of who we are while holding a promise of more to come.”


The grand reveal just days before the Paris leg of the shows reminds the industry of the reset of Berluti following Van Assche’s arrival in April. But, unlike his industry counterparts who are similarly being tasked with reviving heritage brands – Kim Jones at Dior Homme and Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton – and are working against the clock to produce debut collections in time for the spring/summer 2019 presentations, Van Assche is working at his own pace.

The pared-back imagery suggests he will home in on accessories in his role as head of shoes, leather goods and ready-to-wear collections. The Alessandro shoe that he has chosen to highlight, which was conceived in 1985 and is constructed from a single piece of patinated Venezia leather or patinated alligator, shows that he is looking back to the formative codes of the house with fresh energy.

A focus on accessories will help broaden the brand's appeal beyond the languid, feminine aesthetic introduced by his predecessor, Haider Ackermann, to a wider audience, something that Van Assche is skilled at. During his 11-year tenure at Dior Homme, he recruited brand ambassadors such as A$AP Rocky, Boy George and Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan, and staged a series of shows in Asia to bolster the brand's global presence.

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