In the best possible way, a Dries collection is a Dries collection is a Dries collection. Like Karl and Chanel, he is wonderfully true to a singular vision.
That said, his language and his tools are so deeply rich and vivid that even within that singleminded pursuit, he varies so beautifully that each new season seems brand new. Or maybe it’s that something in you seems new. If you want it to be.
Inside a dark and industrial space down a courtyard alley in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, the spring 2016 collection offered a world where the ’40s and the ’80s—and yes, the ’90s too—were not actual periods of time but rather dreams of places we can visit and revisit whenever the mood is right.
And the mood was very, very right on Wednesday. Check it out.
Before the models emerged from the historic warehouse, Parisian string ensemble Balanescu walked out into the middle of the room, between one side of the runway and the other, and began to play Kraftwerk’s “The Robot” from 1977. I couldn’t place exactly what the song was until the third or fourth look came out, but when I did, my mind scrambled to connect the abstracted dystopia of the orchestration with the intensely bright, generously oversized and incredibly ornamented colors and shapes that were emerging.
But again, references for Van Noten are never straightforward. The original Kraftwerk song calls up feelings about a knowable, programmable, outsourced life—an automated world of robot workers. Recorded in West Germany under the influence of the Cold War, it’s a document of historical significance. But for Dries, once you set it to strings instead of synthesizers, it’s the sound of the 2016 version of swiftly mechanized environments and ultra-bionic possibilities in a wide-open pasture of mood and emotion.
The past and future are now. Let’s dance. Slowly.
The shoes in this collection were very important. Van Noten’s shoes have been increasingly important over the past few seasons—impossible to ignore. And these were heavy, large, and fantastically glamorous. Whether satin or brocade, you’ll glide powerfully in them.
Before the show I talked with Jennifer Wheeler, Nordstrom’s vice president of designer apparel, who told me that Dries is one of her personal favorites—she particularly loves his coats. This season’s were cut extra-large; sometimes with the shoulders so far down the sleeve, they weren’t shoulders at all.
The blazers were likewise borrowed from someone bigger, and the trousers were too. It’s a trend in general—extra-long length at the ends of everything, but nothing really feels like a trend with Dries—not even the ubiquitous bomber jacket.
World War Two-era dresses, stockings, styling and hair placed along side wild fuchsia tones and neutral mustard shades. Embroidery, ornamentation, and botanical details paired with grunge era slip-dresses, high-waisted slacks and bustiers. Tropical and South East Asian—by way of vast Soviet landscapes. Van Noten operates inside and outside trends, reality and even time itself.
After the finale walk, Mr. Van Noten joined the models, who lined up stoically on either side of the small orchestra, and the crowd rose in applause and adulation. We’re all looking forward to living inside this brave new world.
Dries Van Noten is carried in select stores; please call 1-877-543-7463 for current season looks
—Laura Cassidy
via The Thread: Fashion Blog, Trends & News| Nordstrom http://ift.tt/1OJ12Lz
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