Exclusively for Port, Creative Director Kris Van Assche pens a manifesto for his Gattaca-inspired collection
“‘There has to be passion!’ declares Anne Clark in Our Darkness and that really registered with me. Everything is an order, an imperative in that song and she’s right! ‘A passion for living, for surviving.’ After the last ten years that have felt really ‘robotic’ in a way, it feels time to make definite statements – and to be optimistic as well. It feels time to stop pressing the standby button and propose something definite. Whether that works or doesn’t work is not the main thing, it just feels right to do something that clearly says something to me.
The idea of proposing a collection about tomorrow – not what will be in 50 years or what there was 50 years ago – and being confident in the idea of the future is almost a provocation now. But that’s what I wanted to do. Propose something of a ‘Gattaca’ future but not make value judgements about it.
I liked the idea of self-improvement, of athleticism and how that would relate to the clothing. I wanted to see how I could modify and tweak the genetic codes of the house, like genetic engineering. There is a scene at the end of ‘Gattaca’ where they leave in a spaceship – but they are all wearing these simple black business suits and that seemed very appropriate to me. That’s what the future is; it is not so far removed from where we are now.”
