All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten, Antwerp, 2019. Photography by Anton Corbijn.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)

Dries Van Noten, born in Antwerp in 1958, hailed from a lineage deeply rooted in tailoring, spanning three generations. Due to his father's business, Dries Van Noten attended menswear shows in Milan, Düsseldorf, and Paris, experiences that taught him both the commercial and technical sides of the industry and prompted his realization that he was much more interested in design.

In 1976, Dries Van Noten enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Concurrently, he supported himself financially by designing clothing for other companies. Dries Van Noten's goal was clear: to demonstrate that his talent and passion could translate into a successful business venture. As a member of the Antwerp Six, his city, Antwerp, continues to serve as a significant source of inspiration and influence for his creative practice to this day.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)

The Antwerp Six © Philippe Costes / WWD.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)

Dries Van Noten debuted his first menswear collection in 1986 alongside fellow graduates of Antwerp's Royal Academy. Faced with limited resources and budget constraints, they ingeniously rented a truck to showcase their collections in London, presenting a creative solution to their challenges. These talented individuals included Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Marina Yee, collectively renowned as the Antwerp Six. Reporters, struggling to pronounce their names, began collectively referring to them as the Antwerp Six. Together, they presented a distinct and radical vision for fashion during the 1980s, firmly establishing Antwerp as a notable location for fashion design.
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The Antwerp Six in 1986 (left to right): Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Dirk Van Saene. © Karel Fonteyne. Images Courtesy of BOZAR.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)
The Antwerp Six emerged during a period when fashion was characterized by exaggerated silhouettes such as big shoulders, poofy skirts, and the confident elegance of Armani suits. Their approach was less formal, leaning towards deconstruction that emphasized self-expression. Together, these designers introduced raw, deconstructed garments that resonated with the gritty new reality following Black Monday, contrasting sharply with the opulent excesses of '80s power dressing. Therefore, in Dries Van Noten's garments, we can see his ability to blend disparate elements and unexpected fabric combinations, creating pieces that are both visually striking and full of personality.

• Further Reading: Deconstruction in Fashion: Definition, Characteristics, and Designers
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)

Dries Van Noten Spring 2015 Menswear. Photo Credit by Vogue.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)

There are few designers whose runway presentations hold as much significance as the garments themselves, and Dries Van Noten is undoubtedly one of them. Throughout his 38-year career, his fashion shows have been characterized by a sense of humanity. The brand exclusively offers ready-to-wear designs, eschewing haute couture. As Dries Van Noten himself stated in a interview, "I'm a little naive, but I don't like the idea of showing things that you don't sell in a store." Sitting at one of his shows, one never has to wonder: Who wears these clothes? Additionally, Dries Van Noten has emerged as a strong advocate for diversity within the fashion industry, consistently featuring models from diverse backgrounds and body types on his runways.
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Dries Van Noten, 2001. The models walk the runway at the finale of the Dries Van Noten Spring 2002 RTW show on October 9, 2001, in Paris. Photo Credit: WWD.

Dries Van Noten is a subtle yet influential figure in fashion, known for what English fashion journalist and editor Hamish Bowles has described as his "poetically bohemian sensibility." Dries Van Noten operated as an independent designer until June 2018, when he sold a majority stake of his namesake business to the Spanish group Puig. Many feared this marked the end of independent fashion businesses altogether. Despite this acquisition, Dries Van Noten remains committed to preserving his brand's independence. He maintains a subdued brand presence by avoiding advertising and refraining from using influencers. In an era dominated by social media, Dries Van Noten opts to retain an aura of mystery. He has expressed that Puig's takeover has allowed the brand to flourish, likening it to tending a garden where one decides what to plant, and eventually, it continues to thrive.
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Dries Van Noten is in his garden in Lier, picking flowers for the house.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)

Dries Van Noten, the brand, possesses an unmistakable signature, synonymous with luxurious fabrics, unconventional prints, intricate embroidery, and bold colors. While his clothes aren't strictly genderless, they effortlessly accommodate the fluidity of masculinity and femininity without drawing attention or self-consciousness. Dries Van Noten's collections often showcase an eclectic blend of patterns, textures, and styles, drawing inspiration from art, travel, and culture. He seeks to create tension among these elements, employing a mix of lavish and simple materials, juxtaposing different prints, and harmonizing pale hues with vibrant colors.
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Dries Van Noten selecting fabrics for the SS16 womenswear collection in his studio in Antwerp.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)
Dries Van Noten's shows and garments have consistently celebrated culture and craftsmanship, infused with deep emotion and authenticity. This is why people consistently praise Dries Van Noten for his poetic, artistically rich creations that are inherently permeated with emotion. As Vogue contributor Luke Leitch writes, "Dries Van Noten is one of the very few designers who defies the giddy winsomeness of this business to churn out collections which, again and again, make you feel like you are reading poetry that you are slightly too ill-educated to understand, yet with which you connect and feel the propensity to emotionally travel."

  

Dries Van Noten possesses an enchanting garden, which has long served as a wellspring of inspiration for his work. The Belgian fashion designer resides in his homeland, within a neoclassical mansion dating back to the 1840s, nestled near Antwerp. Reflecting on his passions, Dries Van Noten tells AnOther, "For many years, I separated my work as a designer and a gardener as much as church and state, yet, I had often wondered how these two beloved worlds of my life could collide and collude."
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Courtesy of Dries Van Noten
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)
Dries Van Noten has devoted considerable attention to nurturing the sprawling gardens of his Antwerp residence. For his Autumn/Winter 2019 collection, he chose to incorporate floral prints derived from photographs of flowers cultivated on his property—a harmonious fusion of his dual passions. In a short film documenting this creative process, we witness the designer and his team carefully selecting roses, salvias, dahlias, delphiniums, and more, photographing each bloom against plain backgrounds. These captured images were then transformed into printed fabrics, adorning silken dresses, lacquered trench coats, padded jackets, and chiffon tops.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)

(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)
In addition, instead of using fresh, perfect flowers for the pictures, Dries Van Noten chose to take them as the seasons turned from summer to autumn. He wanted to celebrate the way the flowers change during this transition. He said, "Colors fade a little, more imperfections appear, and I wanted to capture the beauty and poetry of this for these prints." For Dries Van Noten, mildew and black spots are not flaws; they give the flowers a sense of reality and strange beauty.
(All You Need to Know About Dries Van Noten - dans le gris)

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