The Belgians are Coming!

I adore Dries Van Noten and Raf Simons. If we had to play favorites, they'd land side by side atop my list of designers. Though quite different in aesthetic, each of their styles is defined by innovation, cleanliness of line, and a play of color and shapes. No one can mix patterns--or make them look as luxe--as Dries. And Raf, at Jil Sander and now Christian Dior, has always been a master of silhouette. Their designs tend to be complicated but unfussy, as if the men had grown up in the company of Gothic spires and winding rivers, which they did.

Both designers hail from Belgium, a small country nestled among the Netherlands, Germany, and France. It is also the country where my father was born; whose fourth largest city shares its name with my hometown's most adorable corridor (Ghent), and the magical birthplace of the much adored Belgian waffle (which, like French fries, have been misattributed. Belgian waffles should really be known as Brussels waffles, though we've been calling them that since their stateside debut at the 1964 New York World's Fair. And of course, you know French fries are actually Belgian, right?)

 

That being said, it's a country worth exploration. The population is nearly halved by Dutch and French-speaking citizens, a political reality that has led to some tensions in recent years, resulting in laws that grant each of the regions autonomy and formal recognition (the country is home to the NATO headquarters and it's a country with not one but two official languages). You can find Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Flemish, Walloon, Baroque, Art Nouveau, and Modern architecture throughout the nation, which has been called the "cockpit of Europe" because of its central location and wide seacoast.

 

In a 2010 interview with Dazed Digital, Dries Van Notes said, "Working in fashion, the maelstrom of color, fabric and collections that one puts a lot of thought into, incites a reflex for a need for simplicity. This is why I find respite at home in Antwerp in my house and garden, where things are calm and relaxed." I think when one lives a life seeped in history, in the exploration of art and human creativity, you don't need much else. Your thoughts define you. Perhaps it is the elegant fold of a jacket that draws you to its design, the quiet, rather than the noise.




All collages are the work of Francesca Soroka.

 

A Fashionable Escape

What say we charter a plane to Puerto Rico? I'll pack my bags quick. Just what you see here. (T magazine)

Those oxfords, by the way, are Dries Van Noten.

Dreams Van Noten

Have you ever come across a work of art that speaks to you so directly it's as though the artist stole a thought of yours? Or--if you were capable of welding steel--what's sitting in front of you would be exactly the thing you made?

I sustained the feeling reading all of Charles Simic's notebook The Monster Loves His Labyrinth, in snippets the first time I heard Nico's "These Days," and, most recently, viewing Dries Van Noten's Fall 2013 collection.

Last season, my love for his work was aspirational. His creations were articulations of dreams I had yet to have. Yes of course florals and plaid work together! Why not wear a kimono with a tea-length skirt? White sunglasses and mussed hair: I'm there.

This seasons I--by no means uninspired by the man's past work--found myself ingesting DVN's collection while wearing a coordinating outfit.

Slacks under cocktail dresses? I've been doing that all season! (I hate black tights, by the way.)

Tons of textured volume? I just so happen to have purchased a vintage Parisian brown lambswool skirt two weeks ago!

Baggy sweaters and long skirts? Pfff.

Drop-waists, head-to-toe prints, oxfords, and socks with sandals? So on it.

 

 

This collection, besides being one easy to mock, is interesting. It's fresh and cosmopolitan. I'm inspired to throw a pair of patterned pants beneath a 1940s black drop-waist dress I've had since Wilmington, when I purchased it on credit at a vintage store where I worked. Small tangent: You never know what you will discover while vintage shopping, and so often your explorations lead you to beautiful craftsmanship, these crepe silk creations, you never knew existed. What better way to clad oneself than in mystery and surprise. 

Model images courtesy of Elle.com

All collages the work of Francesca Soroka

 

Dries Van Noten

It's as though Dries Van Noten crawled in through my ear and sketched from the hazy outlines of my dreams. His collection was filled with exactly the sort of thing I'd don at 27 while living in Paris, writing and gazing from ancient stone balconies onto the cafe scenes below.

 

Photos: Vogue