Dior Homme’s Van Assche reworks the black suit, serving up cool, Amish chic silhouettes

Dior Homme does Amish chic

PARIS — Models in Amish-looking suits skulked the catwalk at Dior Homme on Saturday, proving that wide-cut vests and high-water trousers can be the height of Parisian chic.

Designer Kris Van Assche sent out innovative variations on the classic suit, which he slashed and distorted, giving it new proportions and a faux Amish Country silhouette.

“I (wanted) to give the skinny black suit more fluidness, more comfort, with big coats on top in heavy materials, but I didn’t want coats that weigh 100 pounds,” the Belgian designer told The Associated Press in a backstage interview. “Luxury, creativity and comfort” were the guiding principles of the fall-winter 2010-2011 menswear collection, Van Assche said.

Working in a reduced palette of black, charcoal and oatmeal, the Belgian designer served up oversized jackets with long, fluttering front panels that tapered into dangly V-shapes, pairing them with generously cut cropped pants. Some of the jackets were fitted with trompe l’oeil flaps on one side, while others had lapels that morphed into scarves.

Models in bulky overcoats and bathrobe-inspired trenches traced half-moon shapes around the set, which was spread with chunks of coal — a reminder, Van Assche said, of the kind of warm, smoldering color he had in mind while designing the collection.

Sisters of Mercy’s “Temple of Love” reverberated through the dark, cavernous hall where the show — the most star-studded yet in the first three days of Paris’ menswear displays — took place.

Chanel uber-designer Karl Lagerfeld, a huge Dior Homme fan, took in the spectacle from his first row perch, which he shared with French Vogue editor-in-cheif Carine Roitfeld and fashion photographer Mario Testino.