Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear FW2018

Dries van Noten presented a curious, but well balanced mix of combinations, like Las Vegas-style Western garb, white broderie anglaise pants, military parkas, suits in traditional British checks, granny crochet cardigans and pajama stripes. There was also a hint of pimp and a hearty dose of punk, such as a look pairing a glittery zebra sweater with tartan pants.
Even the more daring elements were digested perfectly into the looks. Case in point: a minimalist navy tracksuit traced with lines of tan cowboy-shirt piping.

Van Noten continued to play with oversize proportions in the slouchy suits, boxy trenchcoats and the baggy pants.
The designer’s magic colorist instincts climaxed in an Instagenic run of anoraks in swirling colored marble-y prints recalling Venetian paper or spun paint, with models gathering in a painterly formation for the finale.
The open-border mixing of cultures worked best on a tropical print pajama shirt paired with a fantasy leopard print skinny pant and snakeskin shoes which, like the rest of the collection, was chic whilst telegraphing rebel instincts.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Dries van Noten’s show yesterday marked a milestone: it was his 100th collection inclusing women’s and men’s. And he took the opportunity to look back, but without being nostalgic. He chose to celebrate with the clothes and the women who have telegraphed their power from the beginning – literally generations of runway models. He opened with Kristina de Coninck, followed by a roll call of his favorite go-to girls from the Nineties on — Amber Valletta, Anne Catherine Lacroix, Carolyn Murphy, Alek Wek, Cecilia Chancellor, Élise Crombez, Erin O’Connor, Esther de Jong, Guinevere Van Seenus, Kirsten Owen, Liya Kebede and Nadja Auermann — who shared the runway with the familiar faces of today.

Van Noten dressed them to play up their strength, both as individuals and as a gender. And it did work, powerfully and easily. Van Noten crossed traditional masculine and feminine elements on his runway.
Van Noten’s other big message: prints – he’s a master of the genre. As part of looking back, he revived favorite patterns from his archive, overprinting them with additional motifs so that nothing is today as it was then.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Menswear Paris SS2017

An imagined view from Kelmscott Manor – the country home of writer William Morris – on arts and crafts today was the theme of Dries van Notens SS2017 collection. That translated into romantic visuals based on photo prints of floral tapestry and tonal patchworks.

Belted trenchcoats and high-waisted full-length pants were familiar categories but still compelling ones. There was a whiff of soft military, too, as the prints gradually grew into camouflage patterns, as seen on cropped carrot pants and utility jackets.
Van Noten was at his best when he played with hybrid looks: Rendering tank tops as knitted sweaters minus the sleeves, or mixing panels of tapestry prints with metallic technical fabrics to produce sporty-cool jackets.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2016

If you’re planning on making autumn 2016 a opulent season, then make Dries van Noten your date. Without going too much into detail (or heaving a seat in the front row) you could immediately feel this collection had a wild and mad sense to it. The reason? Dries his muse this time was Marchesa Luisa Casati (1881-1957) the heiress, socialite and countless artist’s muse. A beacon of the belle époque and considered the brightest star in European society as she was well-known for her legendary parties in Venice and Paris. So for this collection to really feel and understand it, every bit of a sense of drama is more than welcome.

The tall and skinny Casati was not considered a beauty, but she was very often the perfect subject for artists as they vainly tried to capture her aristocratic eccentricity. She led a life just as unusual and extraordinary as her outfits. Which resulted in a bold and definite luxurious collection full of leopard prints(it seemed she sometimes was completely naked beneath her furs), rich coloured velvet boots and trousers, decorative pearls not only on gloves but also as an ornate lattice pearl tabard coming from underneath a oversized sweater, sequins, ornate jacquards, flared cream coloured trousers, sporting blazers, heavy mannish overcoats, flowing pyjama’s, silk dresses and feather chokers (it is said that she once wore a freshly-killed chicken as a stole or that her driver had to kill a chicken to pour the blood down her long white arms). Not to mention those black smooched eyes on a pale skin. Like we said: every bit of a sense of drama is more than welcome.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear SS2016

When attending a Dries van Noten catwalk show, you can expect two things: there will be lots of colour and there will be even more prints and textures. And you’ll probably gonna like it big time. It’s what we call the magic of Dries. He has been putting a spell on us for many seasons and it doesn’t seem to stop. Do we mind? Not a bit.

Flamboyant, bold, impulsive, vivacious, observant, infatuated, jubilant, kinky, fearless, flirtatious, those were some of the show notes expressing the feeling of this spring collection very precisely. At first sight it was a very feminine collection, with the bra tops, tulle baby-doll dresses, lots of sheer fabrics, brocade and jacquard, ruffles and many 1940’s en 50’s silhouettes and references like the sunglasses and arm length gloves. Van Noten added sparkly embroideries and sequins on to the already shiny fabrics and exuberant prints. The clashing colours such as mustard, purple, hot pink, orange and gold didn’t hurt our eyes at all. It was the rock ‘n roll victory hair roll (a Gwen Stefani No Doubt kinda style) and layering that gave it the unexpected and less serious twist, like the bra tops and blouses worn over tattoo-print sleeves and tulle tucked underneath bra’s. The double-breasted jackets, oversized blazers, slouchy trousers with exaggerated bows and some hands in the pockets gave it a more manly touch, to balance it out in that tangible Dries van Noten way. This is a woman well aware of her femininity and elegance, but she never likes to play it completely safe. On the contrary, this was the perfect dress up party.

Dries van Noten Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

Dries van Noten honored Hollywood bombshell Marilyn Monroe, in his spring collection. There were black-and-white photo prints on suits, capes, shirts, sweaters, boxer shorts, you name it. And it will sure ignite a trend.  This collection echoed other Paris runwayshows in pointing to a more embellished path for men’s wear. Van Noten added sparkly embroideries and sequins to his roomy, vaguely Fifties clothes as Elvis Presley crooned “Love Me Tender”.  Besides Monroe’s lips, lobsters were a recurrent motif, winking to Salvador Dali and Elsa Schiaparelli, among “creative provocateurs” Van Noten cited as references.

The designer choose looser silhouettes, teaming his slouchy double-breasted jackets and boxy camp shirts with skater shorts.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

Historical richness and modern elegance met each other at today´s Dries van Noten catwalk at Hôtel de Ville. Here he presented a definite luxurious collection with just the right amount of coolness. Or, as the designer called it himself, grounded glamour. Army trousers worked beautifully with brocade, embroideries and fur. Floral and oriental prints flawlessly merged into original patterns given an extra touch of glam by shiny beads and sequin. Trenchcoats, sweaters and wrap/over skirts were followed by combat culottes, waistcoats and turtle necks. Worn with a certain careless cool (hands in the pockets), but given the absolute luxury van Noten treatment. Safari chic covered under a cloak of lavishness, like only Dries van Noten could pull it off.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW20914

Dries van Noten not only presented his fall/winter 2014 collection in Paris, he also prepared an exhibition in the Museum des Arts Decoratifs. His fall collection was audacious and practical, making for powerful, chic-with-a-twist viewing. Op Art graphics and color-centric rave-culture inspired the Belgian designer.

One of Van Noten’s great strengths is his ability to control visually intense motifs, any apparent randomness is intentional. His swirls, overlapping triptych circles and broken-striped grids were applied with bravado executed oh-so-carefully. At times, he went for the contrast of the caustic-on-classic. At other times, he opted for full-on visual shock value. Undulating stripes were another interpretation.
Throughout, Van Noten integrated athletic references — jackets and pants with zippers and parachute details that stood in contrast to the collection’s more obviously polished fare. Either way, he kept his proportions ample, right down to the primary accessories: big, 3-D flowers.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear SS2014

Strong, glamorous women walked the runway at Dries van Noten on the first big day of Paris Fashion Week. At the first part of the show they sported comfortable, yet elegant black and off white looks, which were given an almost royal touch with the addition of some extra golden pieces. Like golden ruffles on a simple white dress or a gold shaded leather waistcoat that popped up from under a trench. But there was more contrast and the richness wasn’t just in the touches of gold. Linen and cotton pieces contrasted with heavily tasseled cialis online and colorful embroidered creations too. There was luxury in the designer’s vivid floral prints, in his shiny silks and his perfect tailoring. But even with all those extravagant details the Dries van Noten woman stays on the chic side of glamour, never taking it too far. For spring she’ll have a wide range of gorgeous semi casual office/lunch/dinner date looks to pull from. Although the pieces from the finale of extremely ruffled designs will need a special occasion to be worn to. A wedding perhaps, as the designer himself cynically stated backstage.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear SS2014

Dries van Noten said it with flowers. He sent out a mix of old floral and botanical prints (from muddied and smudged in inky shades tot vivid blossoms) with scans of freshly cut flowers. Those prints appeared on silk robes, shirt-like blazers and fluid pants – which gave the collection an easy feel. To make it not too comfortable Van Noten added a cotton coat or crisp blazer here and there. There was some sportswear too, anoraks, tank tops and surfer shorts.

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