In his long career as a culture collagist and youth-obsessive, Kris Van Assche has thrived in moments of fashion vitriol. The subjects of his work are often reflections of the real adolescent zeitgeist — an idealist searching for the epic, hopeful future. Throughout his career, his application of boyhood has deepened the image of heritage brands from what one might perceive as superficial. His tenure at Berluti as artistic director highlights the effectiveness of such treatments, with a successful bridge between the heritage of a House that has been instilled with a contemporary, young vision.
Today, Berluti remains as a House of great importance — a reminder that luxury blooms amidst timelessness — but its Summer ’21 collection could possibly change that tender balance as the world demands a reset.
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Like his debut in 2019, Summer 2021 continues to recapture the changing notions of what modern menswear tailoring could be. Codes of leather-making are continually reimagined on essentials — precisely cut shirts and suit jackets utilising soft cowhide instead of wool — in what could be perceived as a new language forever associated with the House. What has evolved instead for the new collection is a re-contextualisation of Van Assche’s vision as a response to the changing desires in fashion during the global pandemic last year.
The result is a product that deliberately considers what people need at this point of their lives — free of gimmicks and melodrama.
Summer 2021 is set around the premise of three ideals — connection, adaptability, and necessity. They are concepts that refines the language of Berluti for the start of a new decade with blooms of colours and new life. What is noticeable is the amalgamation of abstract, colourful point of view and that of Van Assche’s iconoclast desire for modernity.
The application of repurposing modern menswear staples — such as the return of the bomber jacket, windbreakers and classic straight-cut shirts — with Rochefort’s work is a profound expression of turning the 126-year old house into a temple rich in intellect and earnestness.
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So much of the collection reflects a gesture for the interchangeable, not just change. The collection sees suits in classic tailoring wool executed as if it was a sportswear garment. A single-breasted saharienne-style jacket is paired with pants of an athletic demure, and bomber jackets are now comprised of both leather and synthetic materials to create a sense of duality. Where leather and suede continue to trickle down suits in the same familiar touch of Van Assche, Summer 2021 proposes a focus on blousons, hoodies and shirts styled with shorts as the perfect balance instead.
This uncomplicated, urban wardrobe offering is important now more than ever, as menswear quietly exits the foray of in-your-face romanticism and looks towards the practical future.
Collective reasoning — as Van Assche seems to suggest — is the way one will dress in the future. As the world begins to unravel and navigate life in a different light, fashion should provide an answer but it should not be compelled to provide a solution. This is the vision of Berluti that has been set forth, with clothes and accessories that resonates as timeless works of art without a care for being trendy. The Berluti Summer 2021 collection will shine the way.
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View the rest of the Summer 2021 collection below.
This story about the Berluti Summer 2021 collection first appeared in the May 2021 issue of Men’s Folio Singapore. Purchase a copy of the issue here!
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