It’s officially a new chapter of Dries Van Noten. The name no longer just refers to the man himself, but something bigger: Dries Van Noten is now a house, with codes, principles, and a legacy to uphold. Given that Dries always avoided industry trends, it’s fitting that the successor was chosen from within, rather than a flashy name from without. Julian Klausner, who’s been with the brand since 2018 and responsible for the women’s collections for several years, is now tasked with maintaining the legacy of the house while leading it into the future. And with his debut runway collection for A/W ‘25, Klausner already found the sweet spot. A/W ‘25 felt very much like an extraction of balance as one of the house codes. Dries himself was a master of this: He excelled in finding the narrowest line between good and bad taste and thriving off of that tension (His S/S ‘20 collection done with Christian Lacroix providing a sublime example). The difficulty in this extraction is that Dries never really had a signature look, a singular product that people can point toward; in reality, his following adored his immaculate sensibilities, which could be amorphous from season to season. Of course, there are the clashing of prints and colors, exquisite embroideries and craftsmanship, bohemianism, or certain motifs that he favored, but these are not as easily transcribed as the shape of a shoulder or a heritage handbag. For Klausner, this exercise in balance began at the conceptual level: “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.” This reference emerged directly with coats using rug jacquards and curtain tassels as embellishments, the latter done more extravagantly toward the end on a multi-colored coat or dress. The opulence and austerity of the opera – also invoked by the halls of the Palais Garnier – was countered with hints of bricolage, like whipstitched shoelaces around the edges of coats or clusters of jewels on necklines. Klausner also took enlarged silk ties and scarves – a trademark DVN accessory – and turned them into chic, sumptuous dresses which settled things into a louche Belgian elegance. Here again, balance was struck, as Klausner offset the jewel-toned vibrancy with several well-tailored numbers served in black and navy.
On an individual level, many looks were built around a balance of the silhouette bisected by the waist. Corset belts made several appearances, done in a brown croc-leather with those same whipstitched shoelaces. From a heavy sienna skirt with arabesque embroidery and a foldover corset waist emerged a delicate white sleeveless top with beadwork; that same skirt and waistline, this time in grey, was used with a wide-shouldered jacket. A cow print bomber jacket with gigot sleeves, gathered around the neckline, was worn with a long skirt in blush pink that narrowed the silhouette from the top down.
Dries Van Noten A/W 25 (Source: Vogue, Photo by Salvatore Dragone)
Klausner follows the same intuitive approach to design shared by his predecessor. In the show notes, he mentioned playing in his family’s costume box when he was a child, and discovering all of the textures and sensations of clothing. “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.” Speaking of transformation, the question that hung in the air before the collection was, How will the Dries woman transform? It’s a tall order to follow an industry giant, especially in a moment when creative directors are swapped out every other week. Yet Klausner arrived with confidence and a strong assertion of his own aesthetic; it almost felt like a first date with the new ‘Dries Woman.’ There was a sense of wanting to show off a little bit – the ‘personal ritual’ of getting ready to impress. Klausner certainly showed off some of the things he’s bringing to the table: the amount of draping in this collection was new, and may work to give the brand a younger appeal. At times, it felt a little more dressed up than what we have seen from Dries in the past, though it isn’t entirely new territory; A/W ‘20, done during Klausner’s tenure, and A/W ‘16 seem like relevant touch points here – (and if she were on a date to the opera, then the man taking her out might be dressed in something from men’s A/W ‘13).
But about that first date: you only get to make a first impression once. And Klausner took the opportunity to make a strong personal statement for his vision. If his debut offered a sense of the future for the brand, then the retired Belgian master should be happy: The house of Dries Van Noten looks to be in good hands. ARCHIVE.pdf visited the showroom to get a closer look at Dries Van Noten A/W ‘25. Photos by our contributing photographer Thian Benton Fieulaine.