At the helm of one of the industries most noted names and responsible for putting together a grand total of 6 shows a year, including both menswear and womenswear, in the current issue of DETAILS magazine, Kris Van Assche displays a side unseen during the few short moments when he takes his bow as creative director of Dior Homme each season.

From grooming to his thoughts on taking over a house practically built by Hedi Slimane, the designer offers up ‘10 Rules of Style’ worth a read. Setting the record straight and clearing up a few preconceived notions that may have lingered before. Even tackling your body and whether or not you should put it into a pair of leather pants.

1. A lot of fashion houses design for the catwalk and not the street—then you see the clothes on a regular guy and it’s a mess. Don’t disguise your personality behind labels; impose it on the clothes.

2. The most embarrassing thing a man can own is a disposable razor. They’re for women. And speaking of grooming, there’s nothing less flattering than shaved legs.

3. Wearing a pair of high-tops with a suit deconstructs the look, and that’s important. I like the way high-tops and pants act together. It’s like the effect of rolled-up sleeves for your trousers. Just make sure the socks match your sneakers, not the pants. If you like black high-tops, wear black socks. White, white.

4. I don’t really think I know a man who wouldn’t look good in black. Black is always good. It’s the basic.

5. You can wear a white shirt to work, to dinner, to visit the grandmother, to the opera, on vacation, at the beach. It’s the true get-away-with-anything item.

6. There’s definitely an age limit for wearing leather pants, but not for wearing leather jackets. A standout fashion leather jacket can look great on a young guy. And there are a lot of suedes that men can get away with at any age.

7. Don’t just copy an outfit. Look in the mirror and do a reality check. It’s all about making the good match. You’ll know when something is right. And if you don’t, just walk down the street: If people look away from you, then you know you’ve done something wrong.

8. When I took over Dior Homme, I was warned. I knew it was going to be tough—but it was worse. In life you need good friends, and at work you need a good team. There’s so much drama in life and work that you can easily get lost. You need to keep a little distance from everything.

9. We’ve had beefy guys and we’ve had—well, skinny isn’t really the right word, it’s more like scary. Now men should be athletic, healthy. Today it’s about having a balance in life—having nice clothes, good food, and respecting your body.

10. My grandmother told me there are two ways of living: You can either survive or you can really make a life. There is eating and there is dining. She would always give that extra little effort, and I still believe that is important—to make things more beautiful makes all the difference.

Continuing on with my efforts to deliver an alternative to GQ.com’s (formerly men.style.com) 320 x 480 runway shots, updates and additions to the Fall 2009 runway archives. All full shows in high quality (HQ), as I promised. So sit back and enjoy the shows in the shows in the quality that we all deserve.

For John Galliano’s “Kinky Barrister”, click here
For Gareth Pugh’s well-oiled underground machine, click here
For Alexander McQueen’s love child with Sweeny Tood, click here
For Dior Homme’s 80s-90s club revival, click here
For Hugo by Hugo Boss’s Russian spies, click here
For Calvin Klein’s extreme weather proof gear, click here
For Ann Demeulemeester’s edgy and romantic poets, click here
For Givenchy’s bandage-wearing bondage-goers, click here
For Yves Saint Laurent’s lesson in film noir, click here

More HQ updates will continuously be made, capturing every little detail seen on the runway. As Always, if there is any show (Spring or Fall) that you would like to see featured, feel free to comment or contact me.

Recently releasing their full Resort 2010 campaign featuring Ryan Kennedy, Natasha Poly, & Snejana Onopka (shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott), Gucci updates their virtual shelves with the clean and jet-set looks of the collection seen poolside in the latest campaign.

With layering as the main focus of the 21 ensembles shown in the collection’s look book, Frida Ginaini displays the lifestyle of the customers that originally made many of your designer favorites alike dabble in resort wear. Drifting away the Glam Rock look of Fall 2009 and trading in constricting for relaxed. Yet keeping the slender shapes of Fall 09 in tops.

Though it may be the beginning of a brisk Fall for some, the collections check patterned scarves embroidered with an interlocking G details to light brown leather totes are essentially universal.

1. Gucci – Short sleeve slim shirt in check pattern. Blue and white with button front closure and multi-pockets. Visit Gucci.com

2. Gucci – Vintage bomber jacket. Brown leather with stand up collar and sky blue lining. Visit Gucci.com

3. Gucci -Short sleeve skinny polo shirt with interlocking G metal detail. Blue piqué cotton with green/red/green web and patch pocket. Visit Gucci.com

Just because you are in a heavily involved with one of fashion’s biggest names, does not mean that your are only limited to drawing inspiration from your spouse. A concept that Lorenzo Martone seems to have grasped well.

Recently showing up to 1st Annual M.A.D Paperball Gala in NYC on Wednesday, Lorenzo Martone arrived with socialite/jewlery designer Genevieve Jones by his side and another man in mind. Hedi Slimane that is. Not Marc Jacobs.

Dipping into the golden ages of the Dior Homme archives, when Hedi Slimane and the house went hand in hand, Martone channeled the suspender-ed, skinny jean wearing, rock God that was the Dior Homme Spring 2006 man. Less than likely wearing the actual collection or ties from it, Lorenzo instead opted on ombré pants, a white bow-tie, and thick-rimmed glasses. Which can easily take you on a trip to Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2009.

Though I feel that his shirt could have been a bit darker to make it look as if his pants were fading into his shirt, like the effect seen at Wintle Spring 2010, I have a feeling that Brad Goreski (The Rachel Zoe Project) is a little jealous right about now.

Update - Thanks to -h of Prêt à Porter P and Upscale Hype, we can now rest easy knowing that Lorenzo Martone’s jeans are actually Dior Homme and not a random pair of waxed denim.

Priced at $820 and once available on Lusia Via Roma, the Dior Homme 17.5 Stretch Deep Jeans feature five classic pockets, a concealed hook and eye closure/concealed button fly, and waxed denim that fades from black to light grey. Making it easy to see why Will.i.am just can not stop wearing them (a post that will be saved for this upcoming week).

In the finale of the second season of her show “The Rachel Zoe Project” on Bravo, stylist Rachel Zoe gives you an exclusive look at the work put into a recent spread in V Magazine, in which she styled. Titled “Pump Up The Stam”, models Jessica Stam and Leandro Maeder embody the physical aspects to the extreme nightlife glamour of the 80s.

Photographed by Magnus Unnar and taking place in an actual gym, Stam and Leandro undergo a series of retro changes including Chanel legwarmers to dizzying Marc Jacobs and Gucci prints. All reminiscent to Olivia Newton-John’s 80s hit “Physical”.

Acting as second banana to Jessica Stam in the shoot, Leandro did not go through as drastic outfit changes as Stam, but they were sure enough as eye-catching. Managing to squeeze himself into a pair striped visage patterned Gucci Fall 2009 skinny pants, which at first left some clueless as to if they were pants or actually leggings when seen back in January, nothing more could have captured the essence of the 80s in such a simple way.

For women with enough courage to take a jab at the pants, the women’s version featuring side leather inserts are available at Gucci.com, for $950. Though model Maryna Linchuk may have already beat you to it (see here).

Mark Ronson – Dj, music producer, artist, co-founder of Allido Records…Gucci fanatic. If you were to recently team up with Gucci’s current creative designer Frida Giannini, you would most likely fall head over heels in love with the brand too.

Due to launch an Icon-Temporary flash sneaker store that will travel throughout the world this month, Mark Ronson displays his love for Gucci in more ways than one. By designing a line of sneakers purely up his alley, capturing a clever mix of edge and prep.

September 21 - Attending the Pringle of Scotland Spring 2010 show during London Fashion Week, Ronson does the unthinkable and shows up in another designer. Gucci, of course. Which on any other day, with any other person would be seen as a crime.

Wearing a two-button Gucci printed suit featuring thin lapels, Ronson ditched the pink and stripes from the runway show and instead re-wore the same shirt and tie combo as he did a little over a week before.

September 16 – Making it all look so effortless, showing up at the Gucci cocktail party for Ffawn and a screening of “The Invention of Lying” both on the same night, here Ronson strips apart a suit and wears only the red polka dot button-up. Tucked into his skinnies and under a leather bomber jacket. Which I’m sure made Frida Ginanni a very happy woman that night.

Mark must have loved this look so much, because he recently wore it again just during Paris Fashion Week, to a Louis Vuitton event.

September 11 – Taking a walk on the wild side to support his sister Charlotte, to the showing of her Spring 2010 collection, the DJ stepped outside of the box and into a blue micro-houndstooth suit. Changing up the styling of the runway look once more.

Which just so happens to be my favorite look of his.

July 19 – Channeling his inner Elvis in a lush blue velvet suit, Ronson performs with Duran Duran in concert at the Lovebox Weekender, at Victoria Park. Making for the modern mans take on glam rock.

Giving the old heave-ho to the runway styling yet again.

July 3 - Arriving to the 2009 Glamour Women of the Year Awards, Ronson shows up in what I like to call, “the grey checkered suit that started it all”. Before this point in time, the Gucci Fall 2009 men’s collection never made it’s way on over to Mark Ronson.

This time swapping out the tie and shoes to make the look his own.

Eye for style or insane infatuation? You decide.