Many famous people, such as Florence Pugh, Cate Blanchett, and Margot Robbie, have worn Dries Van Noten’s designs.
After 38 years, Belgian designer Dries Van Noten is stepping down as creative director of his namesake fashion brand.
“In the early ’80s, as a young guy in Antwerp, my dream was to have a voice in fashion. Van Noten fulfilled his dream with the help of many supportive people. He now wants to focus on other things.
He will step down at the end of June. His last collection will be menswear in spring/summer 2025, in Paris in June. His studio team will create the women’s collection. They have been working closely together for years. I have complete confidence that they will do a great job.”
This doesn’t mark the end of the Dries Van Noten fashion brand
The House that Van Noten treasures so much will soon announce a new creative director, and he has stated that he will continue to stay involved in it.
Van Noten completed a fashion design course at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium in 1981. After opening his flagship store in Antwerp in 1989, he became a member of ‘The Antwerp Six,’ a group of Belgian creatives revolutionizing the fashion industry. The group included Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Marina Yee. Five years later, he debuted his first collection.
In 1991, he debuted at Paris Fashion Week with a menswear collection. Two years later, he launched womenswear and became a regular on the schedule. Fashion firm Puig acquired a majority share in the brand in 2018.
Over the years, Van Noten has built up a reputation as a quietly experimental fashion designer. He blends the old with the new. He plays around with silhouette. This is mainly seen in the ballooning, oversized shapes of coats and sleeves. The design was showcased at his recent Paris Fashion Week show in February.
Florals are a recurring theme in his clothes, and Van Noten says the flowers often inspire him in his garden.
While Van Noten’s work isn’t a red carpet mainstay like some of the other major brands on the Paris Fashion Week calendar, celebrities make an impact when they choose to wear his designs.
Florence Pugh was nominated for a BAFTA for her role as Amy March in Little Women back in 2020, and she brought a welcome splash of color to the red carpet in her pink and black Van Noten creation.
A fuchsia dress-meets-cape was worn over a black mini dress, with the voluminous sleeves and bow detailing giving a subtle nod to Amy March’s fashion.
Pink and black were central to Van Noten’s work in 2020, as Margot Robbie also wore that color combination to the London premiere of Birds Of Prey the same year.
She paired her full black skirt with a feathered bralette, tapping into the trend for underwear as outerwear, and donned hot pink opera gloves.
Cate Blanchett chose to wear Dries Van Noten to the Oscars in 2008 when she was pregnant with her third child, Ignatius.
The midnight blue gown had an empire line for her bump and gold accents. Additionally, the sequinned flowers on the skirt were particularly eye-catching.
Kirsten Dunst wore a floral Van Noten gown to the Baby2Baby Gala in Nov 2023.
Noomi Rapace wore a navy and white floral print dress with statement red gloves at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022. The dress, created by Van Noten, featured dramatic oversized sleeves.
