Photo illustration: The Cut, Photo: GORUNWAY/Courtesy of Dries Van Noten
It’s easy to understand the respect for designer Dries Van Noten, who ended his 38-year career in Paris on Saturday night. He was never pretentious or in a cloud of concepts. He’s the man behind the scenes, in a white button-down shirt or a navy crewneck and khaki slacks, fixing the coats of his models. If you want to talk to him, you’ll usually find him in the company’s showroom a few days after the show, where he also serves delicious lunches. He never strayed from his original idea of classically inspired masculine fashion, with a nomadic richness expressed in florals, embroidery, layers and unexpected color combinations. The Antwerp native taught a generation how to see color. And when the industry began to use the word “luxury” widely in the early 2000s, Van Noten didn’t go along with it. He was just a fashion designer, no adjective needed. In fact, he refused to advertise. Because advertising would increase the price of his clothes, and the imagery in his ads would inevitably evoke one ideal customer type, even though his goals are multiple.
Van Noten’s decision to retire at age 66 after his men’s and women’s collections on Saturday (his 150th collection, his 129th show) should not have come as much of a surprise when it was announced in March. He’s always done things his own way and proven it can be done, which is both a great source of respect and a sense of loss. His kind of independence has become much harder to achieve. As designer Thom Browne said before the show, “I’m here because Dries was always true to herself.”
Photo: GORUNWAY/Courtesy of Dries Van Noten
About 800 people gathered for the show, which was preceded by drinks and a light snack. The show took place in a former factory on the outskirts of Paris, in the same venue as the 50th show, and featured a very long dinner table around which the models walked after the dishes had been cleared. Other designers included Pierpaolo Piccioli, Haider Ackermann, Maria Cornejo, Diane von Furstenberg, Walter Van Beirendonck and Ann Demeulemeester, the latter two of whom, along with Van Noten, were among the Antwerp Six who brought attention to Belgian design in the late 1980s. Linda Loppa, a teacher at the Royal Academy, was also in the audience.
Photo: GORUNWAY/Courtesy of Dries Van Noten
Van Noten himself mingled for a while at the cocktail party before returning backstage to start the show. “I’m so happy you’re all here,” he greeted his guests. He and his partner Patrick Van Gerwe were keen to keep their emotions in check. “What we’re saying about this collection is, ‘No beginning, no end.’ Voila!” Van Gerwe added that Van Noten could step down as designer. He plans to stay involved with the brand’s beauty business and stores, “because there’s life there.” Avid gardeners with a home outside Antwerp, they plan to travel more. In 2018 they sold a majority stake in the company to Puig, the Spanish fragrance and fashion group that also owns Carolina Herrera, Jean Paul Gaultier and Nina Ricci.
Photo: GORUNWAY/Courtesy of Dries Van Noten
At showtime, a giant black curtain parted to reveal a much larger section of the building, half of which was separated by a long runway covered in a layer of silver foil that fluttered at the slightest air current. In the dim light of the factory, the silver lines looked like jet wakes, otherworldly paths. That was the intention. Given that Van Noten’s collections are sometimes saturated with pattern and embellishment, the understated tailoring in plain but elegant fabrics like cotton and linen was striking. But these were offset by tunics, jackets, trousers and tops made from lightweight fabrics like organza and polyamide that shimmered and shimmered delicately like glass. In addition to silver, these materials came in many colors: peach, yellow, green and coral.
At the end of the show, the models wore the silver leaf off, scattering pieces into the air, which, again, seemed intentional.
Photo: GORUNWAY/Courtesy of Dries Van Noten
I looked at all these beautiful coats, slim and understated, and I thought, “Everyone is going to miss Doris when he stops wearing these. He’s a great source for coats.” But the weird crinkled polyamides and organzas and the greyish florals, which used an ancient Japanese marble technique, did the trick. They brought the energy of the collection forward. That’s what fashion does: It keeps the eye moving forward.
And that’s how Van Noten wanted to end his career, he said: by taking two steps forward. “This is my last chance.”
Don’t look back. Author and former designer Diane Pernet said of his departure, “I’m sad about it, because I can’t imagine Dolly’s without him. I still wear clothes from 20 years ago.”
She pauses and then says, “I’ve never thought of him as a designer. I think of him as a poet, a purveyor of beauty. Just beautiful.”
There’s no word yet on who will replace Van Noten as creative director, or whether Puig will decide to turn to his studio team.
Photo: GORUNWAY/Courtesy of Dries Van Noten