Dries Van Noten is one of the few designers that is as talented as they are reflective. He sometimes voices off on his responsibility to the hundreds of people that his richly embroidered collections employ in India; now this latest season was the occasion to find new inspiration in Europe in addition to sourcing fabrics. This collection pays homage to the eternal accomplice: the weavers. The designer turned towards the UK, and London in particular. While creating beautiful English wools, XL shetland pullovers, washed denim jeans, or Japan fleece sweatshirts, these shadow artisans are seeing their names and trademarks reproduced like decorations.
For Fall-Winter 2017-2018, Dries Van Noten isn’t renouncing one bit of these iconic adornments – he is opting to spread them rather. An anglophile ambiance featuring Mod silhouettes – a London subculture heavy in leather and Bespoke costumes – sets the tone for this collection. There is a technical elegance and a mixture of cultures added here, making for the genesis of a line where each piece is more desirable than the last. Dries Van Noten is giving more than a lesson in style, he’s giving a lesson in humanity. Actually, Dries Van Noten’s brand is on the cusp of celebrating its hundredth runway – it’s no coincidence then that the artist chose to introduce this brand new collection in a long tunnel that winds beneath the tracks of the Paris metro, the same place where he presented his Men’s Fall/Winter 1993-94 collection.
He is interested in seizing the occasion to “offer styles from past collections – ’86 and ’93 notably – to the future generation.” Among the pieces that went down the runway, a leather jacket with rare elegance with very Dries-esque ornamentation grabs attention. This piece’s design starts with a simple reflection: what do we want to keep with us in the future? Good clothing made for men with a taste for fabrics that are just right – a coat that might have been inherited from a previous generation, and could even last one season more.
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