Kris Van Assche knows what he can do and he does it well. He’s turning out pair after pair of beautiful sneakers and he shows no signs of stopping. These Van Assche Black Combo Sneakers are robust with all the signature stamps of the designer: black leather, high tops, and one distinct feature that makes the shoe the shoe — this time with an exaggerated shoelace weaving all the way up the high top and finding its place on a loop in the back. The thing I appreciate about Van Assche’s designs is that they are so clean, he never adds too much to force the shoe to stand out, and yet they can never be ignored. Generally he stays within the obvious realms of the shoe world — classic colors, classic materials — but adds just a touch of creativity (such as the goat suede tongue) to make the shoe unique while refraining from making it look like it belongs in a modern art museum. Despite their practicality, I think his shoes are modern art, and so do many others…which is probably why they are $563 big ones. Well, thank goodness for pictures. Available here.