Dries van Noten blends multiple styles with new menswear collection
For next summer, Dries van Noten promises an explosion of colours and sensations. On Thursday, the Belgian designer unveiled a rich summer wardrobe, a collision of styles yielding an unexpected harmony between fabrics and prints, sobriety and baroque, softness and virility, sport and couture. The collection plays at genre-blending and mood fusion, with clothes that can equally fit poets and sailors, revellers and businessmen.
The models showed in a manic disco atmosphere, striding along an endless, sombre concrete corridor illuminated by a reddish glow inside an ill-lit basement, their multicoloured outfits lighting up the venue.
It was patterns galore, as a sleeveless check top is worn with floral, dark tapestry-effect trousers and a leopard-print jacket. A ruffled shirt printed in a nearly transparent, soft floral pattern smeared with yellow-orange daubs is matched to drawstring trousers in a bronze micro-floral motif, or white mini shorts. A white satin suit decorated with foliage looks like a camo outfit.
Floral prints and patterns are ubiquitous. There are large sunflowers on a leather overcoat, and other varieties of multicoloured, slightly psychedelic flowers that climb down the shoulders and sleeves of a white denim jacket, or decorate overcoats and bermuda shorts with a luminous, shimmering embroidery of sequins and glitter.
On a more understated note, Dries van Noten’s new collection features comfortable white trousers worn with a black jacket or frill-decorated knitwear. The only extravagance is a dark coat with gold-coloured buttons. The wardrobe includes suits in navy blue or grey checks, double-breasted of course. In a more macho mood, Van Noten presented a few muscular looks, like the black leather top worn with white trousers and, conversely, an openwork undershirt with black leather trousers. Going in a sportier direction, the designer featured parka-style raincoats and a spate of khaki nylon trousers.
Clearly, Van Noten had fun at mixing and matching. Pinstriped trousers worn with a flowery sports jacket, an embroidered jacquard jacket with a pair of jeans, or a classic check jacket slipped over a flowing pair of yellow silk trousers, brightened by stunning flowers in a motif inspired by the Flemish masters, while even the lining of the trench coats sports vivid prints.
A long shirt-dressing gown in black silk scattered with flower bouquets like fireworks is worn on bare skin, with a pair of white leather trousers. In some of the outfits, the colours blend delicately, creating a sort of flowery camouflage pattern. Leather combines with silk, cotton and nylon.
The looks are completed by oversize golden jewellery, chains, belts with multiple buckles and large military style bum bags. For the evening, Dries Van Noten pulled out all the stops with a neon pink satin jacket, orange-coloured shirt and multi-pocket nylon trousers also in an orange hue.
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