Dries-helmed Dries
A devoted gardener who creates romantic and painterly garments in his own vernacular
Leaving a breathtaking legacy in fashion, the Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten has decided to step down as creative director of the brand that bears his name at the end of June — this is what most editors would do to the introduction of the above. As a newsletter covering style and vintage fashion, our way into the news of DVN is to say: Stop scrolling over Net-a-Porter, get back on Pinterest and look for runway photos dated back to 1992, Van Noten’s first menswear show in Paris which ended with a number of silhouettes for women.
A mix of 90’s Calvin Klein and today’s Lemaire, Bode and J.Crew, Van Noten’s first show was casual, wearable but considerably subtle given the distinguished context of simplicity in the 90s. Followed by a few seasons of menswear, he designed exclusively for women in S/S 1994 and the first women’s collection of fauna prints with lingering sheerness emerged.
Less shiny reality:
Owing to a tight budget, Van Noten transformed a room at the Hotel George V into a dreamlike landscape, filled with mattresses and cushions scattered on the floor, and allowed his guests to recline and immerse themselves into the collection with an unprecedented closeness.
When casting a ‘real’ woman in a campaign is one of the many moves in designers’ playbooks for the recent decade, Van Noten has long pioneered the ‘Real Model’ trend in the mid-90s. By showcasing his spring 1996 collection in a drained public pool instead of the Grand Palais and the Cour Carrée du Louvre where most big houses had their shows, Van Noten sent 72 regular people who had never done modelling before to walk down the floor of the pool — the runway. Casted them via flyers (the pre-Instagram approach of choice) at cafés, bars, and acting and dancing schools in London, Brussels and Paris, Van Noten looked for models who ran the gamut of ages and body types. This is also in accord with his brand of having no ambassadors or advertising over the years. (Similarly, I love what Miu Miu has done in their latest show featuring a Prada and Miu Miu fan-girl retired doctor from Shanghai to stage her first ever catwalk show in 70 years).
Known for dressing models in layers, Van Noten creates a grand cacophony of color and pattern in every season’s collection to showcase his decadent, global traveller aesthetic with touch of ethnic styles. In a single collection, an amazing range of different prints, colours and texture explores particular motifs in shifting variations of scale and tone without repetition from prior seasons.
Taking S/S 2016 as an example:
… the overall collection was styled to give the catwalk show a certain arc, moving from bright pinks, aquas and yellows through to vibrant purples and dark reds and finally into moodier blacks and shadowy greens. Essentially, there’s lots of thoughtful coordination within the chaos, and the randomness actually sits within a set of boundaries.
— The Cutting Class
Image Courtesy of The Cutting Class
The repeated use of flowers as a motif in Van Noten’s world was anchored by his father who loved roses and made him work in their home garden, which eventually developed himself into a devoted gardener who actively arranged his garden and post them on social media.
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.
— Dries Van Noten
Residing in a 1840s Neoclassical mansion in Antwerp with his partner and their dog, Van Noten owns a 55-acre garden of inspiration with massive lawns, lushy plants, a shimmering lake and architectural decor that looks more like an enchanting dream than reality. Vegetation in Van Noten's garden are scattered everywhere in a rather organic placement, not strictly planned out like a proper botanic garden but nonetheless a romantic utopian paradise. Just like his design preference: Perfect beauty is boring.
Image Courtesy of Vogue
Moved his beloved plants on a new canvas, Van Noten created floral prints using photographs of flowers in his sprawling garden at home to create A/W 2019 women collection, a harmonious creation between the naturalistic prints and modern garments:
Greatly inspired by DVN over years, sourcing and looks created for my own vintage shop also employs elements of ethnic, flowers, patterns and embroidery:
I love how as a practical man of work, Van Noten offers only Ready-to-Wear collections; no Pre-Fall, Pre-Spring or Haute Couture work, just because he does not like creating something not possible to show presence at a store. A man moving slowly, comfortably and confidently at a hectic road crossing, Van Noten will be terribly missed in the world of fashion.
Ending message to self?
Shop the Dries-era Dries while you still can before heading off to The RealReal and Vestiare Collective in just a few seasons time - And yes, I already am making a hard decision between this beaded crop top and floral wide leg pant, telling myself to spare some space in my wardrobe as their throne. Lucky enough, I will spend my Easter in Japan, so granting myself a two-week cooling off period doesn’t sound like an overthinker if I am to rummage through designer vintage shops by then. Of course, you can always bring home a piece of current Dries at a sale price in SSENSE, but I personally prefer shopping secondhand with limited context and extra fun.
Next week: I am going to a Vintage Home Show in a Grade II listed building.
Have a great start of spring! 🌸
Signing off,
Chris
If you enjoyed this newsletter please click the ❤️ button at the bottom of this post so others can discover it.
💌 Maybe even share with someone else who would enjoy!
Catch up on my previous posts:
I thrifted my first Dries piece 10+ years ago- a gorgeous blazer with puffed shoulders. I still have 2 beautiful skirts found locally. Sad to see him retire but he’s always done things on his own terms.
i love dries! at first i didn’t get it, now i think his pattern mixing is just genius