Welcome to Behind the Scenes, a series in which we track the designers as they put together some of the most anticipated shows of each season.
Three days before his final show, Dries Van Noten is tense. “It’s very stressful because at the point where we are, I start to doubt everything,” he tells Vogue Business in his Marais showroom. “Most of the time, it’s only when the boys are all dressed, standing there just before they go on the catwalk that I really see the full line and say, ‘Oh, I have a good feeling.’”
The pressure was on more than ever because this show, staged on 22 June, was the final curtain for him personally. In a letter in March, Van Noten announced that he would step down at the end of June from the house he created over 30 years ago. In 2018, Van Noten sold a majority stake to Spanish beauty and fashion conglomerate Puig, although he has remained a significant minority shareholder, chief creative officer and chairman of the board. His successor has not yet been named.
“I’ll stop designing collections, but of course, I’m still going to be involved in the house, in beauty, store design, advising on collections still. It’s not that it’s a big goodbye and I close the door, but of course I am going to have more time now to do things, which I was dreaming about for a long time,” he tells Vogue Business.
What things? “I can’t really talk about it yet. It has to do with everything that is very dear to me. I really want to continue to work with young people. My team is a really young team and I feel that keeps me young, gives me energy. I want to continue to understand how they look at the world, what fascinates them, what scares them, what they love. It’s also a lot of things to do with craft and, I think, everything, which for me is really part of how I look at the world.”
Why does he choose to stay involved in the fragrance part of the business, which he launched relatively recently in 2022? “It feels a bit like the essence of what a house stands for. You have all the DNA in a bottle,” Van Noten says. (On the day we talk, he’s wearing his fragrance Mystic Moss, with notes of green mandarin and sage.)
He didn’t want his final collection to be a “best of”, he says. “It was really the idea of taking risks and to see how far we can push it. So there are quite a lot of new materials. That makes me also a little bit nervous of course because there are things that are not so safe for me to do,” he shares.
There’s transparency in the collection, even when it comes to trousers. He also uses, for the first time, the Japanese technique suminagashi (literally, “ink floating”), an ancient printing skill that ensures every piece is unique; as well as a newly developed, recycled shredded cashmere wool for coat waddings.
The collection is inspired by Belgian contemporary artist Edith Dekyndt. “She works a lot with transparencies, uses lots of materials that capture memories, fabrics that are worn out,” he says. He describes the collection as “casual elegant… You have floppy fabrics, combined with a little bit more crisp.” He’s edited down 70 looks to a slightly tighter 65.
A final show to savour
I’m invited to return on the eve of the show during the fittings. Van Noten is very focused, adjusting a printed jacket on model Paul Ohunyon. Also present are Patrick Vangheluwe, his partner and the brand’s creative director, and Jan Vanhoof, head of image, who has been working with him for 20 years. He puts his final touch on model Finn Collins, who is wearing organza pants made of recycled polyester and a transparent jacket with military pockets.
The casting is a mix of models, many of whom have been walking his shows for years: Alain Gossuin, Stefano Tartini, Kirsten Owen, Hannelore Knuts, plus a few new faces. “It’s a kind of a family atmosphere having them all together here,” the designer says.
The show venue is also a kind of walk down memory lane. It was held in La Courneuve, where he staged his 50th show back in October 2004. “Our 50th show was the show on the table with all the chandeliers above it. It was quite a memorable show,” he says. “With the Olympic Games, it is quite difficult to find a big space in central Paris.”
One piece of advice to share with young designers? “Take your time. I think young people want to go too fast. The internet is fantastic to get known in a very short time to make things happen. But you’re also burned very quickly, and I think once burnt, they don’t often give you a second chance. That is such a pity when some young people start and they are not prepared enough. I came out of fashion school in 1981 and my first fashion show was 1991. So it took 10 years before I had the possibility, the knowledge and also the budget to do my first show. That helped me and I also knew that I had the team around me. When you start your own collection, the first and second collection is quite OK, but it’s the third, the fourth and the fifth which are difficult.”
He reflects on the more challenging times. “In the early ’90s, we had difficult times like a lot of young brands, growing pains and things like that, and then there was the first Gulf War. You have to try to forget a bad memory but first you have to learn from it, because there’s always a reason why it’s a bad memory.”
Learnings and happy memories
So what did he learn? “For instance, in the beginning, our first really important customer was Barneys New York, together with Pauw in Amsterdam and Whistles in London. But Barneys was really key for us, so in the first years we sold a lot to the US. At a certain moment, nearly 70 per cent of our business was in the US and then the first Gulf War started and all our merchandise was blocked at the customs so we were nearly bankrupt. We just saved everything that we could save and we managed to turn it around. But we said we sell too much in one place — you always have to spread your risks all over the world.”
The happy moments? “It can be successful shows — the 50th show with the table, the first fashion show we did in Hôtel de Ville, but it’s also just working together with your team and struggling to find things in a collection. At a certain moment, you bring two elements together and you say, ‘Yes, that’s it.’ That’s something which, for me, every time gives me the energy to continue.” The women’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection will be designed by the studio team. Will he give his blessing? “Blessing feels a bit like the Pope. It’s part of the decision I took with my partner Patrick and also with Puig. I knew that this moment was gonna come, so it would be a little bit strange to say that I still want to have the last say. That’s not how it works,” Van Noten says. He will attend the show.
How has he seen the role of designer evolve over the years? At Dries Van Noten, “it’s not like a job where you can do just the big lines. It’s very hands-on. It’s somebody who really breathes the love for garments and beauty, really enjoys being busy with fabrics and all those things — not somebody who thinks about marketing”.
He has done more than 120 shows, but says this one still feels like the first.
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