Dries Van Noten F/W 2025.26 Paris

[fruitdots]

I'm not in love with this, but I respect it and I want to see it develop further. I think Klausner understands the codes of the house, and is working with the right materials, but doesn't quite yet know how to develop them so that he's neither reproducing Dries' work exactly, nor creating some sort of Antwerp hybrid (Dries x Ackermann x Demeulemeester). Still, so many of the right elements are there, and I think his eye for colour is especially good; the greens and blues and purples are divine.

 

[Lola701]

I find it rather charming….
It’s a bit all over the place even a bit too much sometimes but it’s convincing enough under the brand name DVN!

Indeed, very Haider in the pliages, fabrics dragging on the floor, mixes of colours (which is interesting because Haider has totally abandoned those things at Tom Ford).

I love the tailoring. It’s fabulous!

I must say that my issue is maybe the lack of sense of reality. When you watch the show, you are entering a world but then you have to face the reality of life and maybe connect with clothes that feels more real. And Dries had that sense of reality, whether it was about the right length or the right styling.

Because Dries is not a brand that does Redcarpet or stunt moments, seeing dresses made of pampilles feels weird.

Nevertheless, there’s here again an energy strong enough to maintain Dries creatively. We will see how it will be materialize in stores.

 

[dancv]

Solid debut. I think it really captured the essence of DVN and it very respectful of the house codes. The choice of fabrics, colours, proportions are all very Dries.

So far one of my favourite collections from this season, And mostly important It doesn’t feel gimmicky which a breath of fresh air nowadays.

But I hated the tassels numbers and those string jewellery.

 

[Creative]

Wow feels super 2009! What a flashback I’ve had. I could smell the Vogue paper in Summer watching the “ethnic” collections of that season…

 

[jeanclaude]

Dead Van Noten...tasteless prints mixed together, a heavy sense of suffocation on each look; and those tassels walking catalogues at the end. Dries always was easy to wear, this looks easy to get trapped in a door.

 

[MulletProof]

Gorgeous debut.. it's not perfect but neither was Dries' own work once he got obsessed with his plants. I find this probably closer to the richer, more opulent, and more romantic phase he had around his 50th show anniversary, minus the part that distinguish it from Dries and that you can see a clear influence from Gigli. It's a great start, showing that you're your own person and not entirely a covers band is a tough job and it's rarely done with balance and humility.. you see both here. There are some areas he needs to work on.. I wish there were sharper pants, not just the two extremes, but it's relatively minor and hopefully he'll get there with time..

 

[JohannesL]

I am glad that someone has brought back Haider's namesake label and hopefully has renuion with its designer in the future.

 

[Phuel]

Gorgeous debut.. it's not perfect but neither was Dries' own work once he got obsessed with his plants. I find this probably closer to the richer, more opulent, and more romantic phase he had around his 50th show anniversary, minus the part that distinguish it from Dries and that you can see a clear influence from Gigli. It's a great start, showing that you're your own person and not entirely a covers band is a tough job and it's rarely done with balance and humility.. you see both here. There are some areas he needs to work on.. I wish there were sharper pants, not just the two extremes, but it's relatively minor and hopefully he'll get there with time..

…. And Yohji. Even a whiff of Ann. And it all merges, fuses and melds together nicely into a fine bouquet.

The gamble for a more formal, a more contrived, and a more high concept Dries paid off here. And accompanied by the insect-armour color-palette, with impressive textures borrowed from Persian bazaar rugs, to Indian madras, to Seurat-esque sequins, it’s all such a worthy senses-overload without being overwrought (take a gander at that Pieter person’s current Alaia— that’s overwrought and still undercooked). So glad he’s not just doing Dries business-as-usual. Instead, making a gorgeous effort for something wildly and spectacular fresh while still holding the best of classic Dries as a standard of his gentlewoman, now mixed with a hint of Roma aggressiveness.

Shame that the men’s couldn’t bother to reach nor aimed anywhere close to the heights of the women's.

(Could also do without the walking curtain tassels. But give this another chance, Jean Claude: It’s solid! BTW, I always read your posts in Squidward’s voice. And I mean that in the most endearing way. […And Mullet’s in Regina George’s, of course…])