March 6, 2025 |
Company insider Julian Klausner made his Dries Van Noten runway debut yesterday, and the collection he served up felt like a lesson in quiet reinvention. The first creative director to take the reins after the brand’s founder stepped down in March last year, Klausner took a carefully considered and pared-back approach to reinterpreting Mr Van Noten’s recognisable design codes whilst tapping into an air of sophisticated opulence that felt new.
Held at the grand Opéra Garnier, the setting set the tone for a collection that felt both rich in history and forward-thinking. Silhouettes in jewel tones nodded to the 1930s, with sloping shoulders, precise tailoring and languid, draped gowns in lush floral devoré. Shimmering, oversized suits shimmered under the lights, adorned with delicate foulard motifs that mirrored Art Deco glamour. There were hints of Eastern influences, too – structured Obu belts cinched fluid layers, adding a sense of restraint to the otherwise free-flowing elegance.
“Here, I imagined women passing through the opera, grabbing fabrics and objects, tying them with a shoelace while on a quest to find the answer to an unknown question. Behind the curtain, where creation and practice happen,” Klausner wrote in his show notes. “That raw, tactile discovery remains at the core of how I see fashion today. This collection is a celebration of that instinct: of transformation, of personal ritual, of the quiet yet powerful dialogue between past and future, which is at the heart of Dries Van Noten.”
Taking over a house as beloved as Dries Van Noten is no small feat. And while Klausner played it safe in some areas, the foundations of his vision were clear: a balance of softness and strength, tradition and innovation. There’s something simmering beneath the surface, and if this debut is anything to go by, his tenure at Dries is set to be an exciting evolution. Cheers to a solid start.
Photography courtesy of Dries Van Noten,
