DRIES VAN NOTEN

Elegance, dignity and tradition. Dries van Noten’s collections represent a perfect mix and match of balance between an elegant and skilfully lightened tailoring and original colors full of exoticism.

Dries Van Noten was born in Antwerp in 1958. He attended the Royal Academy of fine arts joining the “six of Antwerp” a vibrant collective together with Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee. Unlike the other members, Dries stands in clear contrast, manifesting a conservative and traditional spirit compared to the feeling of avant-garde and stylistic revolution that pervades his colleagues way of thinking. In 1991 he made his debut with the first men's collection and then, due to the quick market’s response, he introduced the women's line only two years later.

The focus of his career has been centered from the beginning on the craftsmanship that naturally runs in his veins. His family business was a tailor’s shop. For his collections, he chooses silhouettes and classic fabrics with a sophisticated and subtle taste, which he then enriches with folkloristic colors full of graphic references that recall distant lands, such as India and Africa. The chemisier dresses, with a soft cut, are a must have of the maison to have in the wardrobe. In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Dries Van Noten was the first designer to take sides against the system of - now crazy - fashion rhythms, supporting a new scheduling of collections’ presentations.

Dries Van Noten has built a solid maison, without necessarily rebelling against a system. He established himself thanks to the strong message he managed to send: a romantic one, which is unexpectedly based on tradition, culture and savoir faire, without any excess or stylistic forcing marked by subversion.