Dries van Noten F/W 12.13 Paris

[Tentacl Ventricl]

oooh i like the picture frame motif!

I thought more of windows. Curtains; blinds; skies both day and night, including birds in some.

Regardless though whether picture or window - a sense of a frame, a geometric line of demarcation. And evocation of horizon, vanishing point, perspectivalism within/beyond the garment/body.

I'm not massively inclined toward complexity of print: it all too often feels distracting from line of cut. And chintzy, antiquarian, like interior design with too much going on - an overburdening of space. And, ultimately, too much pretension to status via intricate addition of the superfluous extra.

So I've often found DVN somewhat busy, rather confusing. A designer I sort of want to like but can't yet find myself in tune with. In this collection once the window signifiers dropped off, I found myself rather lost and drifting. But I'm interested to read of the inspirations and see if I might find myself drawn in. If anyone has wind of the shownotes?...

 

[HeatherAnne]

Dries Van Noten Refigures an Asian Story

Under the chandeliers of a gilded reception room at Hôtel de Ville, Dries Van Noten presented a calm, thoughtful, inviting collection that married his masculine tailoring with historical Asian prints. The richly colored prints — from Japan, China and Korea — appeared not only as silk skirts, blouses and languorous dresses, but also as angular panels on jackets and coats.

Backstage, Mr. Van Noten explained that all the prints came from costumes in the collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The garments were photographed, and their shapes directly influenced how they appeared on his clothes. “It was quite spontaneous,” he said of the idea. It was a simple, imaginative use of the past. And not to be overlooked in this solid collection were Mr. Van Noten’s relaxed trouser suits, high-collared white cotton shirts; and outerwear with a nice, rugged, vaguely English attitude. - Cathy Horyn

nytimes

 

[HeatherAnne]

same crap different season

Same BRILLIANCE different season. I'm especially loving the pieces with the aqua in them.

 

[Fiercification]

This is amazing. You can always trust Dries to come up with something wearable and imaginative, I love how he went for an Oriental influence but didn't make the mistake of over-doing it or kitsching it up. The jackets with the heron print on them are divine...I'll find more to love over time I'm sure!

 

[jmrmartinho]

so much better than last season!! great show with amazing strong pieces...

 

[liberty33r1b]

such a beautiful collection, I can't understand how anyone can call this crap?

Dries just never disappoints, I have yet to see a collection by him that I don't like can't wait to see HQs of the whole collection!

 

[Andrea.RL]

My first thought too was "this is the usual Dries Van Noten Collection" but for some reason that I just can't explain it doesn't matter, it ALWAYS looks amazing!! There's something so brilliant in (like an other tfs member said) the use of prints, patterns and the mix of color and fabric.
And he smelt the air right, asian references are popping up everywhere lately.

 

[MulletProof]

Same crap comment different season.

OH-MY-GOODNESS.
Take the shiny blue details in the last looks away and this is perfection.. just right up my alley, the right dose of military structure with the fluidity of silks and prints.. the moment he does hair and makeup like this, you know it's going to be good .. my favorite of the season so far.

 

[Donatello89]

Well...YES !!! prints are beautiful !!!!

 

[mackos]

Some prints are lovely, but this season's mix doesn't seem to do it for me. The pieces I love the most would be the classic, minimal outerwear ones, like coats on Daiane and Suvi or the fur-collared parka on Daga, they're fantastic

 

[liberty33r1b]

WWD Review

Dries Van Noten has a well-established love of exotica, typically expressed via his innovative use of prints. He is also among the increasingly few designers who give their runways over primarily to daywear — real, unapologetic daywear that could, aside from the editorial flourish or two, make a speedy segue from runway to street. In the collection he showed on Wednesday, Van Noten again fused those two core elements to ultrachic effect.

The designer has a particular gift for functioning flamboyance. Back in October, he started scouring the Victoria & Albert Museum for historical Chinese, Japanese and Korean costumes. He then photographed the actual garments — robes, coats, skirts — for large-scale prints that he cut into various pieces to create graphic blocks on the clothes. The side of a lavishly patterned oriental coat became the decorative motif for a skirt; parts of an Eastern skirt, the pattern on a blouse. Sometimes one big, bold graphic made the case, while at others, it was an interesting patchwork.

The technique worked beautifully for silk skirts and dresses. Its daring transfer to coats and jackets transported mannish tailoring from sensible to sensational. Van Noten took respites from the prints to detail some pieces with grand embroideries of cranes and a phoenix, and continued the men’s wear mood with a rugged parka in plasticized velvet. Rather than jar, the visual bravado radiated womanly self-assurance.

If one cared to nitpick (and why not?), the show went on too long. Or maybe Bon Iver’s downer delivery of “Woods” on the soundtrack just made it feel that way. Then again, perhaps Van Noten considered it a happy indulgence “to slow down the time” after he pushed his V&A contacts to hasten their pace. “Museums think in centuries,” he said in a preview. “They’d say, ‘When do you want this, January?’ Fashion designers think, ‘This afternoon. We need it now.’”

 

[margielamike2004]

I agree. Beautiful collection. I can never understand what other people seem to expect from Dries. He has a very personal esthetic which he seems to stick to in every collection...and he always does a fantastic job.

For those who criticize...I'd love to know exactly what they DO expect..or if they also possess the talent and imagination that Dries has.

 

[MulletProof]

I agree on your last part, margielamike, on building expectations out of research and knowledge of the work of a designer, but I disagree on the part of having equal talent and imagination in order to emit criticism. I think people should have information and develop an opinion based on it even if they don't possess the skills and means to conceive a collection on the level of someone as experienced and trained as Dries (or any other designer) is.

Apologies if I misunderstood your comment by the way. I know it was brief and casual but just wanted to make a point on it because it's not the first time I've seen it as an argument to discredit criticism.

 

[Tentacl Ventricl]

nytimes

Thank you HeatherAnne. What Cathy Horyn has to say is always of interest. But on this basis I understand not much beyond the level of what I understand of Jason Wu's offering this season. And I'm sort of thinking Dries has a status as perhaps a more cerebral voice than that. So, Asian prints..and...

 

[Fashion_Girl22]

HQs
Vogue.it only features the first 34 looks of the collection. From look #35 on, the images are slightly smaller and from vogue.co.uk.






vogue.it

 

[Fashion_Girl22]

vogue.it

 

[Fashion_Girl22]

vogue.it / vogue.co.uk

 

[Fashion_Girl22]

vogue.co.uk

 

[Pricciao]

first I was thinking about some Netherlands inspiration, then the Bushido dress pops out that I realize it's about Japan. so... good play on the elements, they look very well-done embedded in the collection.

 

[margielamike2004]

Considering I love bright colors and busy patterns...Dries is definitely one of the reasons why I always investigate his collections every season. I do like black...but too much black seems to be TOO easy for my personal taste. Within the patterns..I also like the geometry where the prints disappear..or make an abrupt exit.

I would definitely wear many of the sportcoats from this collection. Considering I am a man..I look to see what is being shown for menswear...but it always seems to be too straight-forward and conservative. Several designer show patterns for men...but not as busy..or as bright as Dries presents in his women's collections.