Dries Van Noten RTW Fall 2022
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The house of Dries Van Noten came to life, literally, in a circa 1780, delightfully decrepit maison on the Left Bank.
The designer chose a presentation format for his fall collection on Wednesday, creating a mysterious scene, Disneyland style, with heavily made-up mannequins populating the grand staircase, the dining room, even the bathroom in the five-story space. (Inspired by architect/furniture designer Carlo Mollino’s legendary Torino apartment, and the trove of eery Polaroids of half-naked women in classical poses found there after his death, the designer said.)
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“We didn’t want to make it too comfortable,” Van Noten said mischievously, leading guests up the stairs past a red velvet upholstered elevator containing a pair of cast-off heels and a scarf.
The intimate setting was all the better to showcase his big news of the week: The launch of his first cosmetics and fragrance collection, inspired by his famous home garden in Antwerp.
The perfume flacons, which are refillable, are objets of beauty themselves, with carved wood, hand-painted porcelain and engraved metal bottles, and names like Voodoo Chile, Rock the Myrrh and Raving Rose. “I really wanted to dress the fragrances,” he explained, showing off the display.
Also showcased, his alluring new lipsticks. “It was really how much pigment can you put in a lipstick,” the designer said, twisting open a tube of fuchsia as dense as velvet as evidence.
Obviously, Van Noten loves a diva, and this season he was feeling Mina Mazzini, the Italian songstress, now 81, who has been at work for more than 50 years. The star’s dramatic makeup and flamboyant style are not for wallflowers, but one only has to look at the costume party happening outside all the fashion shows this month to know how sympatico Van Noten’s reference is to the times.
The quickest and easiest way to dress up may be with a statement coat, and Van Noten had loads of them, with exaggerated rounded shoulders and nipped waists, or long, slim silhouettes, and animal prints galore. A slim wool chenille, silk and Lurex zebra coat was gorgeous over fluid red velvet trousers and a disco ball of an allover crystal embroidered robe coat with a playful shearling collar would bring the party no matter where one goes.
A gold jacquard trenchcoat with tromp l’oeil fold effects was another special piece, as was a black jacket with pony hair laser cut into a rose motif. And a textured leather sequin coat had a superb lightness, while a bomber with a painterly skeletal design was reminiscent of one of Mollino’s skeleton tables.
Continuing the interiors theme, Van Noten revealed a cabinet of curiosities filled with treasures, including glittering beaded butterfly-shaped collars, a bomber jacket encrusted in twinkling sequins, and to-die Chinese blue porcelain court shoes. Made of crackle printed lacquer, they definitely fall into the category of “to wear or display?”
Tailoring was masculine-inspired with feminine flourishes; a black blazer with shoulder seams edged in crystals, had a chunky jeweled brooch for a fastening, and a long line, double-breasted tweed suit looked cool with a miniskirt attached to the creased trousers.
Dresses concealed and revealed, and everyday pieces popped with color. A drip-dot dalmatian print silk dress with a keyhole front came layered over a red leather turtleneck for a hint of eroticicm, while silk shirts, trousers and draped jersey skirts were worn in clashing makeup shades of red, hot pink and purple.
With the beauty launch, then seeing the Dries Van Noten world come to life in situ, could the next stop be a home collection? It’s prime time.
Launch Gallery: Dries Van Noten RTW Fall 2022
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