Models Ellen Rosa, Vinten, Forrest, Eniola Abioro, and Cara Taylor all wear Dries Van Noten x Christian Lacroix. Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, January 2020
Kesewa Aboah wears a A draped top and fringed skirt by Dries Van Noten. Photographed by Nadine Ijewere, Vogue, December 2020
Having cultivated his color-rich and textural collections as devotedly as his garden, Dries Van Noten, now 65, has decided to put down his shears in favor of his pruners. In a letter sent to friends of the brand this morning, he wrote “In the early ’80s, as a young guy in Antwerp, my dream was to have a voice in fashion. Through a journey that brought me to London, Paris, and beyond, and with the help of countless supportive people, that dream has come true. Now, I want to shift my focus to all the things I never had the time for.” As he does so, we stop to take a look back at his best looks in Vogue.
Belgian-born and trained, Van Noten is a quiet force in fashion, one known, as Hamish Bowles has put it, for his “poetically bohemian sensibility.” For 33 years—from 1985 until 2018—when he sold a majority stake in his company to Puig, Van Noten worked as an independent designer, following his intuition and, importantly, inserting his values into his garments. “Even when I say, ‘No, sorry, I really don’t feel like doing embroidery for next season,’ there is embroidery in the collections,” Van Noten said at the 2017 Forces of Fashion conference. “Sometimes it’s more visible, sometimes it’s more brass and gold, and sometimes it’s just white on white. But there is embroidery because, in the end, we are ultimately responsible for our 3,000 employees in India.” And, of course, his customers love it.
Dries Van Noten pulled out all the stops for the dinner/fashion show he hosted for his 50th show: After the plates were cleared, the chandeliers rose and the tables became the catwalk (see the photos from the spring 2005 collection here). So in March of 2017, when his 100th show came around, he presented it with little fanfare, but much emotion, inviting back to the runway some of the models he had most enjoyed working with through the years. Both of these gestures were hospitable and warm—like the man himself. Fashion won’t be the same without him.
Natalia Vodianova wears a Dries Van Noten coat and skirt. Photographed by Steven Meisel, Vogue, October 20021/28
Liya Kebede, with her son Suhul, wears a Dries Van Noten dress. Photographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, June 20032/28
Gemma Ward in a Dries Van Noten. Photographed by David Sims, Vogue, February 20073/28
Liya Kebede and Natasha Poly, both in Dries Van Noten. Photographed by Steven Meisel, Vogue, February 20094/28
Jourdan Dunn and Chanel Iman, both in Dries Van Noten dresses. Photographed by Craig McDean, Vogue, October 20095/28
Cara Delevingne in a Dries Van Noten jacket and pants. Photographed by Sebastian Kim, Vogue, January 20136/28
Edie Campbell in Dries Van Noten. Photographed by David Sims, Vogue, March 20137/28
Edie Campbell in a Dries Van Noten sleeveless blazer and dress. Photographed by David Sims, Vogue, March 20148/28
Dries Van Noten in the gardens of his home in Lier, Belgium. Photographed by François Halard, Vogue, March 20149/28
Caroline Trentini wears a Dries Van Noten dress, scarf, and brooch. Photographed by David Sims, Vogue, September 201410/28
Tali Lennox in a Dries Van Noten coat. Photographed by Greg Harris, Vogue, April 201511/28
Liya Kebede in a Dries Van Noten coat and dress. Photographed by David Sims, Vogue, September 201512/28
Nathan Westling wears a Dries Van Noten coat with faux-fur collar and jacket. Photographed by Willy Vanderperre, Vogue, October 201513/28
Alicia Vikander wears a shirt, pants, necklace, belt, and sandals by Dries Van Noten. Photographed by David Sims, Vogue, January 201614/28
Rianne Van Rompaey wears a Dries Van Noten bra, top, and skirt. Photographed by Craig McDean, Vogue, March 201615/28
Rianne Van Rompaey in a Dries Van Noten dress and gloves. Photographed by Greg Harris, Vogue, August 201616/28
Halima Aden in Dries Van Noten. Photographed by Anton Corbjin, Vogue, July 201717/28
Deepika Padukone wears a Dries Van Noten bow top. Photographed by Mikael Jansson, Vogue, April 201918/28
Imaan Hammam wears a Dries Van Noten dress. Photographed by Ethan Green, Vogue, July 201919/28
Gigi Hadid wears a Dries Van Noten coat. Photographed by Nigel Shafran, Vogue, September 201920/28
Ugbad Abdi wears a Dries Van Noten top printed with a photograph of flowers with a blazer and pantsof his design. Photographed by Bibi Cornajo Borthwick, Vogue, November 201921/28
Phoebe Waller-Bridge wears a Dries Van Noten top, skirt, jeans, and boots. Photographed by Ethan James Green, Vogue, December 201922/28
Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Dries Van Noten shirt and pants. Photographed by Ryan McGinley, Vogue, Februaray 202023/28
Kendall Jenner wears a Dries Van Noten x Christian Lacroix top and skirt. Photographed by Jackie Nickerson, Vogue, March 202024/28
Caroline Trentini wears a Dries Van Noten coat. Photographed by Ethan James Green, Vogue, May 202025/28
Kesewa Aboah wears a A draped top and fringed skirt by Dries Van Noten. Photographed by Nadine Ijewere, Vogue, December 202026/28
Athiec Geng wears a ruffled Dries Van Noten dress and shoes, with a traditional Moroccan wedding blanket and a headpiece from Azrar Marrakech. Photographed by Mous Lamrabat, Vogue, March 202127/28
Lila Moss makes wears a Dries Van Noten coat. Photographed by Larissa Hoffman, Vogue, November 202328/28
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
