Dries Van Noten's new men's collection was muted but extravagant. It's the kind of balancing act he can practically manage in his sleep at this point in his career, but it's always fascinating to see how he introduces new elements to define each season. Here, for instance, Van Noten wanted to extend the dreamily exotic mood of his last women's collection into his menswear without using all those sumptuously patterned jacquards. So he opted instead for the silvery embellishment of the Miao people, stuck way down there in southern China, decorating their clothes with an ornate elegance, which at least guaranteed that Van Noten's showpieces had a subtle splendor.
But what about the rest? There is always an air of the nomad about a Van Noten collection. It's likely something to do with the historical comings and goings in Antwerp, Belgium, once a merchant hub of the world. The designer has simply absorbed his hometown's extraordinarily deep cultural heritage. The layering here felt like it came from some tribal hinterland—coats over coats over kilts over pants. When jackets were reversed to their quilted linings, they also looked like tribal garments. Same with the woven visual motifs, and a color scheme of black and indigo, with red accents.
Still, Van Noten likes to play with your preconceptions. Anyone for combat culottes? The tribal turned punk quite easily, and then it made another detour into an elegant silk dinner suit. One thing Van Noten had noticed in his research was how the notion of protection was universally conveyed in clothing by horizontal bands, from fireman's jackets to Miao utilitywear. Grosgrain ribboning duplicated those bands. It's such intriguing connections that set Van Noten above the crowd. He isolates the strange in the familiar, and vice versa.
