Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten’s young life was permeated with fashion, thanks to his parents’ and grandparents’ clothing stores. He opened his first boutique in Antwerp in 1985, and after he participated in the British Designer Show in 1986, his work rapidly attracted international buyers. In 1989, he moved his shop to the Modepaleis building, where he still sells his collections today. His first men’s show in Paris, for Spring-Summer 1992, ended with a number of silhouettes for women. His first show with designs exclusively for women followed a few seasons later, for Spring-Summer 1994, and the interchange between the two collections has been a constant in his work. Van Noten's design process always begins with the development of prints that form the basis for silhouettes that can be either loose-fitting or structured. His characteristic embroidery work then takes shape. The designer seeks tension between all these elements, expressed among other things by a combination of costly and simple materials, contrasts between different prints, and mixing pale with bright colours.

In 1989, Christine Mathys, with whom Dries Van Noten worked closely on the commercial expansion of his fashion house until she died in 1999, introduced him to India. India would have a strong influence on the aesthetics of his early work, and he established intense and loyal collaborations with the producers of the embroideries he used. This resulted in exceptional embroidery work for all of his collections, which over the years became one of the most defining features of his signature style.

Dries Van Noten takes his audience on imaginary travels and tells multi-layered stories with atmospheric textiles. The mise-en-scène of his shows sublimates the clothes he presents to a higher level and achieves maximum effect with sometimes surprisingly simple elements, such as Christmas lights or umbrellas.

Dries Van Noten translates his passion for gardening into a generous use of floral prints and well-considered, yet natural compositions. Floral motifs find countless experimental applications, with ultimately balanced results. In his Spring-Summer collection for 2013, he mixed flowers in pastel colours with tartan punk. Flowers for Men, for Spring-Summer 2014, was an eclectic superposition of floral prints from men's apparel throughout history, ranging from 18th-century chintz motifs to Hawaiian flowers.

Inspired by Jane Campion's The Piano, Dries Van Noten designed silhouettes for his Spring-Summer 1999 collection that seemed to have weathered a storm. He combined a jacket in open knit with runny prints and jewellery made with mussel shells. A black dress with a hook fastening takes on a dark allure with a scarf in chain knit that seems to be disintegrating.

Countless sources of inspiration, ranging from old masters such as Antoon Van Dyck and Angelo Bronzino to abstract art by Yves Klein or Victor Vasarely and heroes from his youth, such as David Bowie, Marc Bolan (Autumn-Winter 2022-23) and Malcolm McLaren, all find reflections in Dries Van Noten’s work, in a mix of both classic and the rebellious. In 2014-2015, these inspirations also became the subject of the exhibition Dries Van Noten: Inspirations at MoMu and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, further cementing Van Noten’s reputation as one of fashion’s most established names. The prestigious awards and prizes that he has received during his career, including the American 'CFDA International Designer of the Year Award' in 2008 and his appointment as French 'Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres' in 2014 underscore the international impact of his work.

In 2024, Dries Van Noten announced his departure from the company he founded and handed over creative leadership to Julian Klausner. Klausner ensured continuity while also introducing his own distinctive signature style. In 2026, the Fondazione Dries Van Noten opened in the Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice. The foundation is dedicated to craftsmanship.

Author: Romy Cockx
Photo above: Casper Sejersen