Website: www.driesvannoten.com

Dries Van Noten was born in Anvers, Belgium in 1958. He studied fashion at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Arts graduating in 1981.

In 1985, Van Noten started his own company and began designing womens wear. The following year, he showed his collection in London. He received orders from Barney's in New York, Whistles of London and Pauw of Amsterdam.

In 1988 he received the Award of the Flemish Community for his work. The same year he started selling his creations in Japan.

He debuted in Paris in 1991 for his Mens collection, and in 1993 for his Womens wear.

He is a minimalist who favours spare lines and dark colour palettes. He has built up a large following in Belgium and has now also attracted international attention.

He uses figure-defining fabrics such as jersey and silk knits and is known for layering jackets over dresses and trousers. He also produces sleek suits with jackets buttoned on the diagonal, long duster coats and matte sequined evening dresses.

Van Noten is known for his eclectic use of themes. Prints and embroidery decorate Eastern and Western garments, a sarong is placed over trousers, a sari under a double-breasted jacket.

Spring/Summer 2003

Dries van Noten presented his Spring/Summer 2003 collection during Paris Fashion Week in October 2002 which was very well received. This is an outfit from that collection. He showed plenty of his signature full, stripy skirts and knit tank tops and gave a quick nod to current styles with satin tank tops and cropped blouson jackets. His colour palette was inventive, turquoise/brown, wine/orange and lemon/apricot.

Fall/Winter 2003

His Fall collection was shown during Paris Fashion Week in March 2003. An outfit from the collection is shown on the right.

Dries is not one for following trends. His clients like to collect individual pieces rather than change their look every season. Shown under a canopy of tiny fairy lights, Van Noten's Fall collection was hugely feminine and adorned with everything from sequined edges and ruffled hems to floral applique. Dries has provided plenty of beautiful options for his customers to choose from.

Spring/Summer 2004

During Paris Fashion Week in October 2003, Dries van Noten showed his collection for next Spring. A dress from this collection is shown on the left.

Dries transformed the 19th century study hall of the Ecole des Beaux Arts into a magical hothouse and filled it with an artist's vision. He presented simple white cotton smocks and ruffled dresses, with waistcoats and wide trousers. Then came taupe and silver jackets and trenchcoats. Gauzy layers, swishing silks and sturdy linens had exquisite embroidered down sleeves or over backs. He finished with a complete spectrum of blue-blacks.

Fall/Winter 2004 ready-to-wear

Dries van Noten presented his Fall collection in Paris during Fashion Week in March 2004. An outfit from the show is pictured on the right. His inspiration for the season was a well-travelled women of the twenties, enjoying embroidered silk and richly embellished Chinese jackets and pajamas. The low-waisted look showed up on tailored skirts and loose pants. Van Noten's woman is not a sex bomb. He has always dressed an intellectual type of woman who likes gentle layered, softly-coloured unrestricting clothes and an eye for sparkling accessories.

Spring/Summer 2005

During Paris Fashion Week in October 2004, Dries van Noten showed his collection for next Spring. A dress from this collection is shown on the left.

This was Dries' 50th collection and he invited 500 people to sit down for dinner and had the models walk down the table between the main course and dessert. The wine and the food may have lulled some into thinking that the clothes were unusually beautiful but in fact they were extraordinary. Coats were cut close to the body in faded prints. The colours used cocoa brown, silvery taupe, blood red and white were amazing. At the end of the evening Dries gave each guest a book covering all his 50 collections.

Autumn/Winter 2005

Dries van Noten's Autumn/Winter collection was shown during Paris Fashion Week in March 2005. His daywear included faded fur-trimmed coats, rolled up menswear pants and platform shoes. Salt and pepper coloured tweeds and voluminous trenchcoats were also seen. His evening wear included a fragile black camisole embroidered with green flowers and a velvet skirt cinched with a fuschia satin sash. The theme seemed to be the Russian opera.

Spring/Summer 2006
Paris Fashion Week

Dries van Noten presented his Spring/Summer 2006 collection during Paris Fashion Week in October 2005. A yellow ochre linen skirt with a cream blouse with a brown sash belt from the collection is shown on the left. Over the skirt/blouse outfit is a long cream silky duster coat..

His collections always include ethnic touches and lots of craftsmanship. This season he used Asian kimono fabrics, tie dye, floral prints and metallic brocades. Obi-like sash belts, small jackets and skirts were as attractive as ever.

click below:

Dries Van Noten:
Shape, Print, and Fabric by Andrew Tucker

2005