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While researching the Fall 2009 collection of Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten, I found that although I love the collection itself my reading eased more and more toward the designer, his attitude toward his art, and his ideals. Like his clothing, Van Noten comes across simple, straight-forward and structured; however, upon further inspection one can see a researched attention to detail so well hidden in the coolness of the collection and the man himself that both reveal themselves as less pretentious and much more approachable than their quality could allow. In an industry leaning more and more on the basis of advertising and cross-promotion, Van Noten concentrates on the basics of his craft and was recently honored at the Couture Council's Artistry of Fashion annual lunch. "I am very happy with this award, because it is for artistry in fashion, which for me is one of the most important things. It's the skills, the craftsmanship, the colours and the fabrics I create" (Vogue.com).

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This attention to fashion fundamentals seems to have grown out of Van Noten's upbringing. As the third generation in a family of tailors, the designer lived amongst his father, the founder of an upscale fashion boutique on the edge of Antwerp and his grandfather, who between the two world wars introduced the city to ready-to-wear fashion. With his Fall 2009 collection, Van Noten seems to be drawing on this period in which his grandfather reworked and resold second hand clothing. Belted trench coats, drop waists, loose fits, and an overall structured fluidity. But what really pulls the whole collection together with an air of genius is Van Noten's color choice. "Van Noten had taken the shades of Francis Bacon's paintings—shrimp pink, beige, ocher, orange, and mauve—and deployed them in a way that gave life to pieces that might have seemed boring in other hands" (Style.com).

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Read more about the attitudes of the designer in an interview with Dries Van Noten here. Read more about the history of the designer in a NY Times bio of Dries Van Noten here.

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posted by: Tricia Rock

" />Designer Style: Dries Van Noten | The Rathaus

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Designer Style: Dries Van Noten

August 15, 2009 Art, The Rathaus

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While researching the Fall 2009 collection of Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten, I found that although I love the collection itself my reading eased more and more toward the designer, his attitude toward his art, and his ideals. Like his clothing, Van Noten comes across simple, straight-forward and structured; however, upon further inspection one can see a researched attention to detail so well hidden in the coolness of the collection and the man himself that both reveal themselves as less pretentious and much more approachable than their quality could allow. In an industry leaning more and more on the basis of advertising and cross-promotion, Van Noten concentrates on the basics of his craft and was recently honored at the Couture Council’s Artistry of Fashion annual lunch. “I am very happy with this award, because it is for artistry in fashion, which for me is one of the most important things. It’s the skills, the craftsmanship, the colours and the fabrics I create” (Vogue.com).

00240m 00190m

This attention to fashion fundamentals seems to have grown out of Van Noten’s upbringing. As the third generation in a family of tailors, the designer lived amongst his father, the founder of an upscale fashion boutique on the edge of Antwerp and his grandfather, who between the two world wars introduced the city to ready-to-wear fashion. With his Fall 2009 collection, Van Noten seems to be drawing on this period in which his grandfather reworked and resold second hand clothing. Belted trench coats, drop waists, loose fits, and an overall structured fluidity. But what really pulls the whole collection together with an air of genius is Van Noten’s color choice. “Van Noten had taken the shades of Francis Bacon’s paintings—shrimp pink, beige, ocher, orange, and mauve—and deployed them in a way that gave life to pieces that might have seemed boring in other hands” (Style.com).

00270m 00050m

Read more about the attitudes of the designer in an interview with Dries Van Noten here.
Read more about the history of the designer in a NY Times bio of Dries Van Noten here.

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posted by: Tricia Rock

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