by A piece of silver, a modest bow and a verbal ‘thank you’ delivered by the smiling standing ovation. With that, Dries Van Noten bowed out of fashion forever.
During Men’s Paris Fashion Week, the influential designer bid farewell after announcing back in March that he would be leaving his namesake brand. The retirement plan is to ride off into the sunset with partner Patrick Vangheluwe – who works within the house – and enjoy his retirement, instead of staying tied to the hamster wheel of four collections a year that the fashion industry demands .
You might not have heard of Dries Van Noten – he’s not as well known as other fashion titans like Giorgio Armani or Dolce & Gabbana – but that’s exactly how he likes it. The 66-year-old is an arch nonconformist who raises expectations and prefers to cater to a conservative few who appreciate his new approach to clothing, rather than the masses. In doing so, he created a legacy that is unique and specific to him.
What does that mean for the clothes? Tension between the precise and precise, and the whimsical and joyfully expressive. Van Noten was raised in Antwerp and attended a Jesuit school, but later found himself immersed in the Belgian counterculture music scene of the 70s and 80s. That duality comes through beautifully in what he designs; a well-tailored suit in sharp pinstripes, paired with brightly patterned shirts or trousers with sequins and embroidery.
He was part of a historic fashion movement known as the ‘Antwerp Six’ – a group of Belgian designers – such as Ann Demeulemeester and Walter Van Beirendonck – who studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the city. The two were present at the farewell event which was held in a huge warehouse in the suburb of Saint Denis north of Paris.
They were joined by a team of ‘Avengers Assemble’ designers, including Diane Von Furstenburg, Haider Ackermann and Thom Browne. No celebrities, just respected industry figures paying tribute to the man who built a brand so unlike anything else in fashion.
“It was my dream to have a voice in fashion. That dream came true. Now I want to shift my focus to all the things I didn’t have time for,” Van Noten said. His farewell show could have gone down the path of nostalgia, but instead he focused on a modern rendering of his version of menswear – one with a sense of individuality rather than conformity. There were shiny metallic jackets and coats, blousey parkas in juicy ice cream colours, shirts and blazers full of embroidery and transparent layers.
Van Noten created spectacle during the staging of the show – thousands of squares of silver foil flowed up the catwalk and exploded as models crossed it, glittering slides dancing through the air. One of the most memorable fashion moments I have ever encountered, as it happens, was the Dries Van Noten show in 2016 when guests watched the show on the stage of the Opéra Garnier in Paris, Chagall frescoes overhead. It was relevant that Van Noten chose his last show to be a menswear exhibition – he started with menswear, but only switched to womenswear after noticing that women buying his suit and shirt.
Van Noten said he has big plans, but will take a long vacation first. He is not a man who lives in a bubble of fashion mania (as so many designers do); he loves his garden, his houses in Belgium and the Amalfi Coast, his dog. He loves to cook. It will take time to appreciate those things, rather than living in a system that requires constant innovation.
Along with his unique aesthetic – he has a special tribe of acolytes, of which I happen to be one, who can see his clothes at thirty degrees – Van Noten is unusual in that his business remained completely independent, until he sold it has a majority share with the Spanish perfumery. Puig conglomerate in 2018, presumably to wind up the company and plan its exit strategy.
In today’s fashion landscape, it is a rare privilege to see a designer, especially one who still heads his own house, bid adieu – so many who work for prestigious houses are mourned without ceremony or moving houses in an endless music game. chairs. Van Noten was as stunning, as evocative as ‘him’, right down to the final outfit – a tight black coat paired with textured, odd trousers.
Dries Van Noten thanked the cheering crowds as he took his final bow, but the thanks went both ways.
