It was sure to be emotional. In a Saturday night showcase, Dries Van Noten offered his last assortment as artistic director of his namesake model, marking the top of an period. The occasion attracted the elite of the posh style world, together with designers like Haider Ackermann, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Thom Browne, Diane von Furstenberg, and fellow Antwerp Six members Ann Demeulemeester and Walter Van Beirendonck. Rumors circulated that Martin Margiela was additionally secretly in attendance.
The environment was bittersweet as the style group ready to bid farewell to one of many business’s most good colorists. Over the previous three many years, Van Noten’s collections, famend for his or her vivid prints and textural prospers, have made him a favourite within the style world, together with his cult attraction solely rising stronger over time.
“That is my 129th present; just like the earlier ones, it seems forward. Tonight is many issues, however it’s not a grand finale,” the designer wrote. He reworked an unlimited warehouse in northern Paris for the event. Company loved cocktails round an unlimited dice displaying clips from his most memorable runway exhibits. When a curtain was pulled again, a large 243-foot catwalk lined with 70,000 silver foil shards was revealed. These shards danced within the air as fashions walked. Acquainted faces graced the runway, together with Alain Goussin, who opened Van Noten’s first males’s present in 1991, alongside Hannelore Knuts, Debra Shaw, Karen Elson, and Kirsten Owens. They showcased tuxedo jackets prolonged into duster coats, organza smocks that snaked across the physique, and billowing trousers adorned with pastel-hued florals created utilizing the Japanese marbling approach suminagashi.
“Earlier than a bit of clothes is worn, it’s encoded with tales. When design comes from a private place, each element and resolution is significant,” Van Noten mirrored, drawing inspiration from the work of Belgian artist Edith Dekyndt. Dekyndt’s artwork, which alters the looks of supplies via chemical remedies and publicity to pure components, was echoed within the assortment’s crinkly, semi-sheer outerwear in shades of purple, yellow, and wealthy purple. “Garments that transfer via life with us, carrying us ahead,” he added.
It’s uncommon to see a designer like Van Noten, fiercely impartial and singular in his strategy, bowing out on his personal phrases. To a standing ovation, he took a last bow to Donna Summer time’s “I Really feel Love,” with a large disco ball setting the stage for an epic after-party. This marked the top of 1 superb chapter and the start of one other, because the model’s new artistic director is about to be unveiled within the coming months. Farewell, Dries; what a spectacular journey it has been.
