Dries Van Noten‘s last lesson goes beyond fashion. Belgian fashion designer announced he will step down as creative director of his maison to catch up on what he put aside and give space to new generations. Life beyond work and generational renewal are now topical issues in every field. Dries Van Noten managed to turn into a role model with the grace and spontaneity that characterised his collections.
Dries Van Noten is a Belgian designer that stood out for his avant-garde approach to fashion, made of strong and bold contrasts. He always made great use of vibrant colours, prints and embroideries, in a creative and free way. He is responsible for Antwerpen’s transformation into one of the European fashion centres. Before DVN, the Belgian city was just popular for the diamond market.
Aged sixty-five, he announced with a letter that he is going to step down as creative director of DVN. The men’s collection to be presented in Paris in June will be his last. While searching for a new creative director, his team will continue the work.
Dries Van Noten’s last lesson, we can derive from his goodbye letter, though, is not about fashion. First, it is about the importance of life beyond work. He explained he wants to take time for himself. Cultivate passions he had not time for up to now. Something all the more complicated in Europe, where the age for retirement keeps raising. Moreover, he wrote about letting a new generation of designers express their vision. Another hot topic in Europe, where youth unemployment is around 15%.
