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BREAKING NEWS: Kris Van Assche Is Leaving Dior Homme; Former Louis Vuitton Artistic Director Kim Jones Is His Successor

By Donovan | March 19, 2018 3 Comments

Dior Homme Spring 2018

PARIS — Breaking news out of Paris, France. After 11 years as creative director, Belgian fashion designer Kris Van Assche is leaving Dior Homme and will take up a new assignment within the LVMH Group, according to WWD.

Expect an official announcement imminently.

Dior indicated Van Assche’s successor would be named “subsequently.”

According to WWD‘s sources, former Louis Vuitton menswear artistic director “Kim Jones will take up the plum design role.” Jones left Louis Vuitton in January 2018 and showed his final collection (fall 2018 menswear) for the house on Thursday (January 18) during Paris Fashion Week (see it here).

Jones new position at Dior Homme will reunite him with Pietro Beccari, who arrived as chairman and chief executive officer six weeks ago. Jones had worked with Beccardi when he was the No. 2 executive at Vuitton.

The same sources said Jones would present his first collection for Dior Homme in June.

He joins a clutch of prominent designers at Dior, headlined by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first women to hold the position in the French house’s 70-year history (see it here) and Victoire de Castellane, its fine jewelry designer since 1998.

In a statement, Beccari thanked Van Assche “for contributing to the amazing growth of Dior Homme by creating an elegant and contemporary silhouette for men. He wrote an important chapter in the history of Dior Homme and played a key role in its development.ˮ

Van Assche thanked LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault “for the trust he placed in me,” along with “Sidney Toledano and Serge Brunschwig for their warm welcome at Dior and their continuous support during all those years of collaboration.”

In his statement, Van Assche said “it is with great emotion that I thank my team, my studio and the ateliers. Their support and their unique talent and ‘savoir-faire’ have made all my creations possible.ˮ

After 11 years as artistic director of Dior Homme, “Kris Van Assche will continue to express his talent and creativity within the LVMH Group. His next assignment will be announced at a later stage,” Dior added.

Van Assche’s next move could not immediately be learned.

“Kim Jones is a cosmopolitan designer and art lover, born in London in 1979. He has a Menswear MA from London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. His graduation show won high praise within the press and the industry, and John Galliano bought part of it. In 2003, he was admitted to the London Fashion Week with his menswear label, showing a blend of street style and sport fashion.”

“While still working on his own label – which he terminated a few years later – Kim Jones was also ultra-busy on a series of collaborations with Umbro, Hugo Boss, Topman and Iceberg. He was honoured at the British Fashion Awards several times, and also worked for Alexander McQueen before being called up in 2008 by Dunhill, where he became creative director, until he joined Louis Vuitton in 2011.”