Belgian designer Dries van Noten makes up one of the Antwerp Six– a group of Belgian designers who graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the 1980’s and brought avant-garde collections to the world, centring Antwerp as a fashion capital. After graduating, Dries van Noten launched his eponymous brand in 1986 with his business partner Christine Mathys. The collection began as a menswear line, seeing instant success with Barneys New York making an order from the label. In 2018, the Dries van Noten brand was acquired by Puig, though van Noten himself continues as Creative Director of both menswear and womenswear for the label.
Dries Van Noten is known for their distinctive, artistic collections. The brand does not look to trends for inspiration, but instead designs with an eccentric character, creating inimitable pieces which will be cherished for a lifetime. Known for their extravagant use of colour and pattern, Dries van Noten is extravagant yet wearable. Bold patterns and vivid colour are met with simple silhouettes. Dries van Noten himself was born into a family of tailors, so expert cuts are integral to the brand, crafting flattering and sleek shapes which are classic and enduring. Combining contrasting prints and brazen colour palettes with uncomplicated silhouettes makes Dries van Noten pieces wearable and functional, which is important to the brand. Original fabrics are layered beautifully, while digital prints and ornate embellishments adorn garments. Imaginative and modern, Dries van Noten mixes masculine and feminine elements within collections to create unique and exciting styles with a psychedelic, futuristic feel.
With boutiques from Los Angeles to Paris to Singapore, Dries van Noten designs can also be found in department stores from London to Toronto. Their collections can be accessed online too, through sites such as My Theresa, Liberty and Mr Porter.