In an old factory in outer Paris, designer Dries van Noten finished an almost 40-year career as creative director of his eponymous label in a riot of silver foil and a last bow to Donna Summer’s I Feel Love.
Famous for what the New York Times dubbed “sumptuous fashion for thinking women”, his final hurrah was for his equally covetable menswear. “Before a piece of clothing is worn, it is encoded with stories,” he wrote in the notes for his Men’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection. “When design comes from a personal place, every detail and decision is meaningful.”
Van Noten was part of the “Antwerp Six”, graduates of the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the early 80s who would influence fashion globally. He became renowned for the elegance of his designs, distinctive prints, often inspired by his garden, and use of deep, rich, “so Dries” colours.
Majority owned in recent years by the Spanish firm Puig, the label will continue and a new creative lead will be appointed. Van Noten, 66, has other things to do. “My dream was to have a voice in fashion,” he said in March, announcing his retirement. “That dream came true. Now, I want to shift my focus to all the things I never had time for.”
Creating, he once said, is about leaving something that lives on. For those with van Noten in their wardrobe, the pleasure endures.
