ANTA Unveils Debut Collab With Kris Van Assche at Dover Street Market Paris Pop-Up

ANTAZERO — the sustainability-focused sub-label of ANTA — has teamed up with Kris Van Assche to unveil its exclusive debut lifestyle collection for Fall/Winter 2025.

Launched last year, ANTAZERO represents the performance sportswear brand’s commitment towards a more responsible garment production, including lowering carbon impact across design, manufacturing, and retail, while continuing to innovate in garment fabrications.

For the debut collaborative collection, Dior Homme and Berluti alumnus Van Assche looks to bridge the gap between conscious performancewear and luxury. Having nurtured his craft for over two decades, the Belgian designer’s unique aesthetic is rooted in “beauty and essentialism.” However, while at the helm of heritage couture houses, he’s also been a champion of bringing streetwear sensibilities into the luxury realm throughout his career.

The collection’s concept: From running track to city street, fuses ANTA’s functionality with Van Assche’s elevated tailoring codes. Stand-out pieces like the double-breasted recycled nylon puffer and overcoat reimagined in a sports jersey fabric challenge the norms of traditional garments with a twist, while parkas crafted from vegan mycelium leather, knitwear from recycled polyester, sneakers, and accessories cohesively complete the range.

“My philosophy is me reacting to whatever subject I’m faced with. I’m more interested in a dialogue rather than a monologue.”

Hypebeast was invited to Van Assche’s home in Paris, France, ahead of the launch of the collection’s pop-up at Dover Street Market Paris. As he takes us through his space, recalling the inspirations that brought him into fashion as well as how he extends his craft into art sculptures displayed in his living room, he begins by explaining the long-standing, and often one-sided, relationship between the high-fashion and sportswear worlds. “I love the challenge of working with a sportswear brand,” he says, referencing how luxury brands have been tapping into the street and sports space for years. “It’s about time that sportswear started looking at luxury, too.”

Arriving at the pop-up, full-size campaign images showcase the contrast between the monotone and colorful visual story of the garments. Shot by long-time collaborator and acclaimed photographer Julien Martinez Leclerc, Van Assche highlights the importance of a good team when presenting a collection visually. “Through the lens of the right photographer, combined with the right styling, you almost get a sense of couture [from the collection],” he tells us, noting the use of movement.

Piece by piece, he explains how every garment has been crafted with meticulous detail, using crafting techniques and ingenious tweaks to transform male silhouettes into womenswear, overcoats into sportswear, or make rigid leather appear ribbed. Breaking down the meaning behind the collection, the designer says, “We push creativity and the product much further. Beyond performance, this is about city wear.”

Continue reading below for the exclusive interview with Van Assche.

Hypebeast: How do you describe your design philosophy?

Van Assche: It depends on the brand I’m working with. If it’s ANTA, it’s going to be playing with sportswear and performance codes, and bring my world into that. If we’re talking about interior design, it’s going to be a different philosophy, or when I’m doing bronze sculptures with Laffanour — a Parisian gallery — it’s something else. My philosophy is me reacting to whatever subject I’m faced with. I’m more interested in a dialogue rather than a monologue. That’s what makes it interesting.

What are the differences in process when working with differing mediums?

Everything is a question of volume, proportion, and whatever restrictions come with materials. It’s about testing limits and seeing how far you can push them. However, as an overall rule, I like to think I’m looking for a sense of beauty. And what links everything together is that quest.

What does beauty mean to you?

Beauty is the one remedy to make everyday life more livable. We’re overwhelmed by ugliness and violence, so beauty is my remedy, seeing as I’m not a medical professional [laughs].

How have you intentionally curated your space to make it inspiring for your work?

It’s a very honest and organic process. In the beginning, everything in my interior was black and white — from photography to furniture — and little by little, more color sneaked in, mostly through ceramic pieces. It’s an ongoing learning process, first you learn about fashion, then about photography because of its connection, then you go into art, design, and architecture.

ANTAZERO is ANTA’s sustainability sub-line. With the fashion landscape moving towards that direction, why is this the perfect time for you to be involved?

ANTAZERO is the perfect opportunity for me to take sustainability more seriously. We’ve been talking about it in luxury for the past 10 years or so, and I have touched on the subject in the past, but there’s no way you can do sustainability at a luxury house in a way that ANTAZERO is doing. The scale of the brand allows for more research and possibilities that are incomparable. While ANTAZERO is considered to be the smaller brother of ANTA, I feel it will serve as a laboratory to experiment with things in a different way that will diffuse into the brand. It’s the first step of something that could have a massive impact.

The collection brings an elevated touch to the brand. What was the thinking behind incorporating that energy into a sportswear label?

It’s an honest reaction of me being me. I love the challenge of working with a sportswear brand, but I’m not the one who will make clothes more performance — they have experts to do that. I like to come with the background I have, which is more couture, elegant, and streetwear — combining that with their world and see where those contrasts meet. That meeting is always more interesting than just one story. I’m still making tailored jackets, but with sealed seams in recycled nylons. God knows I’ve made traditional jackets for a long time, but I’m rediscovering the same silhouette with their know-how. It’s been exactly the refreshing challenge I was looking for.

How was the concept From Running Track to City Streets visualized in the campaign?

Right in the beginning, it was clear that Julien Martinez Leclerc would be the perfect photographer. He has the power to create something very couture in black and white, but also very dynamic when working in color — mixing chic vs dynamism in a cliché way. He immediately got that and has this reference of old-world beauty that I look for in any other aspect of my work.

What is your favorite piece in the collection?

The puffer is what I relate to the most. It’s the perfect conclusion of what this collaboration is about. It’s a double-breasted gentleman’s coat constructed like a technical puffer parka jacket. Again, it’s a fusion of luxury, old-world beauty and performance. If I could pick one example of what this collection is about, it’s this.

How did you approach the design direction for this partnership?

First, I try to understand the brand I’m working with. I always try to do right for the brand, then after, the million-dollar question is: What can I bring? What makes it feel right? When I launched my label in 2005, the first looks were traditional three-piece suits, but with white sneakers. There was already the idea to meet luxury with street. Now it’s common, but back then it wasn’t. So for me, there’s a real sense of making a nylon puffer tailored jacket with all the technical finishes a performance brand can bring, because it’s a synthesis of what I’ve always wanted to do.

What was the thought process behind tapping into color for the pieces?

It’s quite intuitive. Like any other collection, it starts with a moodboard and then a personal longing for what I’d want to wear or what I’d love to see people wearing. There was a moment in the process where I wanted all the pieces to exist in black because that’s one way you can read a garment, but in a bright color, it gives a different message. I liked to play with that.

Why is it important for a designer to have creative freedom in a project like this?

Because otherwise I couldn’t sincerely defend the project. Yes, I had a lot of creative freedom but I also respected the brand DNA. If I worked for another brand, I would’ve made a different collection. If I relaunched a brand for myself, it wouldn’t look like this. At the end of the day, what’s the point of Kris Van Assche collaborating with ANTAZERO if there’s not a feeling of me in the collection?

What advice do you have for a designer when approaching a collaborative project to bring their voice into it?

You need to understand what you stand for. There’s so much information and product out there, so how are you going to still make a difference? Every day you need to ask yourself that question.

Go behind-the-scenes of the ANTAZERO x KRIS VAN ASSCHE Dover Street Market Paris pop-up in the video above.

For more information and to shop the debut FW25 collection, visit the ANTA website now.