Extravaganza woman of Dries van Noten
How I've learned to be a woman by following a fashion designer for fifteen years.
When I describe a person, I start with “You know she’s dressed in Chanel from head to toe, visits L’Avenue in Paris for lunch, got married very early, graduated from UCLA and does yoga everyday“. You get who I’m talking about, right?
I’m pretty sure that when people describe me they must mention kaftans, venetian shoes, caret bangs, boxing, a tailored suit or jacket and Dries van Noten. These are the tags I would use to describe myself, although I would go into greater detail.
On 23 June 2024, Mr. Dries van Noten presented the last runshow for his own brand. Earlier in March he announced his retirement, which shocked every single client, journalist and fashion follower. In this dispatch I will return to the role of a fashion blogger for a bit, but this time it's not play-pretend - only genuine, pure love for this incredible creator.
Very particular to his way of thinking is putting things in opposition: he takes something from baroque artists and something from comics, puts it all together and creates a contrast
Obviously, there are many more fashion designers that I love and appreciate. Nevertheless, Dries’s universe is very close to mine. His definition of femininity is visually tailored to match my image of a woman and the way I feel myself. Frankly, I’ve never seen him as a couturier who puts fashion above the woman he dresses. This ‘extravaganza’ woman has always been always his priority, and his clothes should fit all her extravagant needs and activities.
The first time I saw his clothes was in 2009 at a local concept store. I was 20, I had just started out at my job, and I didn't consider myself a full woman yet. I still saw myself as a girl, and I was one. I remember that Dries was expensive (everything seemed to be expensive at that point, but it was really expensive), so I had no chance to afford it then. Instead I started to come to the store and try it on, style myself in the changeroom, take pictures with my camera (holy!), chat with store assistants and then leave. I did this almost every week.
My first van Noten purchases came a year later and I barely wore them. Why? Because I was still just a stupid girl who couldn't commit to her journey into womanhood through clothing. This lasted for many years. I would buy some stuff that I could afford, follow all of his shows and explore his stores every other time I was in Paris (Antwerp happened much later to me). I can’t remember making any successful outfits featuring Dries’s garments until very recently... around my 30th birthday.
My admiration for his universe grew with every new collection. I found my major fashion crushes through them. Stuff like contrasting prints, twisted suits, male shapes perfectly fitting on a curvy woman’s body, 100 shades of camel color, ethnic motifs implemented with sporty items, bold accessories and smells.
Why am I so much into Dries van Noten?
Playing with colours and prints
Contrasting, mixing and matching the unmatchable
His love for flowers, art and ethnic motifs
Seeing beauty in ugliness
Combining elgance, perfect fit and comfort
Storytelling
Respecting history, tradition and heritage
Timeless contemporaneity
Loud performance with no words (an ambitious introvert approach, so to speak)
Inspiration and study are recognized and embraced
His collections are a sort of wunderkammer, you never stop discovering new things and unraveling deeper layers. He remains firmly grounded, but still dreams big.
When resale platforms started growing a couple of years ago, I started buying (collecting?) garments that I could not afford before. Moreover, I now wear them. I actually wear them a lot! Surprise-surprise, but it's only been a couple of years, since I started consciously considering myself as a woman.
The Spring Summer 2015 (A Midsummer Night's Dream) collection became my biggest crush - that’s why I’ve tracked down the most pieces from it. I still can’t afford the most expensive items, like coats and evening gowns. But I set up a budget of 300$ and have been checking TheRealReal (I prefer TRR over Vestiaire due to their interface and quick shipping to Israel) twice a day. This is my way to procrastinate while still satisfying the hunting instinct.
My wishlist includes:
I studied all the catwalks since 2009 and found some treasures to share:
To wrap up my ode of admiration here are several more things that bring Dries to the first place in my list of idols, even surpassing Miuccia Prada: the interior of his stores is done by Gert Voorjans, so they're worth a visit even if you don’t want to buy anything; his exhibition at Musee des Arts Decoratifs was the most visited show at the museum and has become a study case for every art and fashion curator in the world; His perfumes are complicated and have great packaging (which could even be used as vases); the documentary Dries (2017) has a very aesthetically compelling image, as if it has been directed by Paolo Sorrentino, but it hasn’t; he loves dogs; he collects art and antiques; he published two books that should be in the library of any art historian. Honestly, I can keep going, but it seems like these already demonstrate enough of my appreciation of maestro.
It is still not clear who will take his place after his leave. But I hope no matter who it is, he/she will continue making clothes for the same extravaganza woman with respect and love. Meanwhile, I’m off for the weekend with no plans.
Yours,
Miri
Wow what an archive you’ve created here! I always wished I could style myself in a more exciting, more dries kind of way, but alas I am one of those “entire closet filled with navy turtlenecks” type of gal. I’d like to work on that