Dries Van Noten is a Dutch designer creating creative collections for intellectuals. The designer prefers layering, deep complex colors and unexpected styles, shocking the fashion world and multiplying the army of his fans.
Childhood and youth
The biography of the future catwalk star began in 1958 in Antwerp in a family of hereditary tailors. The boy's father owned two ready-to-wear clothing stores, his mother was the manager of another fashion boutique, collecting antique lingerie and lace.
Dries' future was predetermined, and he himself showed an interest in fashion from childhood. Together with his father, he went to fashion shows in Paris and Milan, spent hours studying magazines and shop windows. The boy received an excellent education at a Jesuit school, where he was not only given a solid theoretical base, but also instilled in high moral principles.
Having weighed his capabilities, the young man decided that he wanted not to sell fashionable clothes, but to create them. He enrolled in the Royal Academy of Arts for a design course, and began working as a freelance designer in small firms at the same time. This helped to study the production and sales process from the inside, and subsequently saved from many mistakes.
Carier start
After completing his studies, Drys worked as a freelancer for another 6 years, and then began to create his own collection of shirts, blazers and trousers. The debut took place in London, the aspiring fashion designer performed as part of the Antwerp Four. The collection was appreciated at its true worth, and the samples were immediately purchased by fashionable corners of large department stores. A few months later, Van Noten opened his own boutique, where not only men's but also women's lines were exhibited.
A few years later, the designer moved to a huge six-story building, which accommodated not only a spacious showroom, but also clothing warehouses, accounting, advertising, marketing, and logistics departments. A few years later, the Dutch troops landed in Paris, opening a mono-brand boutique in the very center, and a couple of years later a similar store appeared in Tokyo. These countries were not chosen by chance: the French and Japanese from the first days appreciated the non-trivial collections of the gloomy Dutchman, christening them truly intellectual and ultra-modern.
It is noteworthy that Van Noten implements all his projects exclusively at his own expense. He does not merge with corporations and does not need partners, while maintaining complete control over his own business.
Creativity concept
Dries Van Noten is a very peculiar character in the fashion world. The master is not interested in creating haute couture clothes, he does not want to sew things that cannot be bought in stores. The designer prefers layering, the concept of unisex and a creative approach to ensembles is close to him. Even the most unusual things of Van Noten fit into everyday life, they can be combined with each other or diluted with more calm basic models.
The designer boldly combines bright and dark colors, original prints, interesting textures of fabrics. He hardly advertises his brand, which is why his clothes are readily bought up by those who are used to looking “not like everyone else”, while not shocking others.
Van Noten prefers not to advertise his personal life. He lives with his partner in a spacious country house in Antwerp. In his spare time, Drys is busy with a huge garden, growing exotic plants.
