Dries Van Noten’s spring/summer 2023 menswear collection was a vibrant rush of ungendered energy with a dose of drama that took a deep dive into the catharsis of touch. Ruminating on the friction between our need for physical protection in contrast to the intimacy of up-close contact, the layering was lavish, the mood uplifting and the colours zinged with sophisticated eccentricity.
Touching on the queer anti-authoritarian demeanor of the Zazou subculture of Paris during World War II, the garments were unabashedly loud – just like the underground rebels who frequented swinging jazz clubs such as the Pam Pam Cafe and audaciously defied the Nazis.
Elsewhere, while sharp-shouldered power suiting offered nods to avant garde fashions of the 1980s, the collection had all the joyous mixing of masculine and feminine codes one could wish for – perhaps of the subversive Buffalo style movement that came out of Britian – and a flowy levity that hints this – seen in the patchwork shirting, capes and militant silhouettes.
That said, conventional dichotomies and gender norms were ultimately rendered void as the collection developed. “Womenswear” boasted crisp tailoring while “menswear” was cinched at the waist, elaborately wrapped, draped and dandyfied, with elongated lines and a new emphasis on lingerie for men.
Photography courtesy of Dries Van Noten.
