The story of Belgian designer Kris Van Assche, in the most obvious way, is defined by the story of his former boss, Hedi Slimane. When Slimane decamped to head up meanswear at Dior, Van Assche followed, before leaving Dior in 2004 to start his own label. But after Slimane’s run at Dior came to an end in 2007, Van Assche was summoned once again to try to fill the very slim pants of a man whose work at the label helped define a global menswear trend built around teenage-sexy, rock ’n’ roll chic.

The last two years have marked a subtle turning point for the 35-year-old Van Assche, who has weathered the early storms, turned back the critics, and started to carve out his own territory.

But as he confesses to Rick Owens, beneath his organized, controlled surface lies a quiet intensity that continues to fuel his work.

OWENS: [laughs] So, now that I have you: Did you always want to be a designer?

VAN ASSCHE: Ever since I realized that clothes just don’t drop out of the closet and that somebody was deciding
what I would actually wear. I must have been around 10 or 12 when I started questioning things like, Why should somebody else decide what I’m going to wear? And I’m an only child, and I was born in this small town.

OWENS: Did your parents dress you? Was that something you reacted to?

VAN ASSCHE: Yeah, of course. My parents are really nice, but they’re very conservative. They’re like the most normal people in the world. And they had one big definition for life, which was: “Don’t get noticed. Be normal, that’s weird enough.” And that just didn’t work for me.

Kris van Assche and Rick Owens are exclusive to 4.

Read the other part of the interview here on Interviewmagazine.

Read the original blog post here on Interviewmagazine.