On March 19, Belgian designer Dries Van Noten announced that he will step down as creative director of his eponymous house in June. Thus, the studio team will create the next Dries Van Noten Spring/Summer 2025 Women’s collection.
In an email announcing his retirement, Van Noten said, “I have been preparing for this moment for some time and I feel it is time to leave room for a new generation of talents to bring their vision to the brand,” “In due course, we will announce the designer who will continue the story,” he continued.
The successor to take over the brand has not yet been decided, but discussions with European designers have already taken place and several candidates have been shortlisted.
Dries Van Noten has been a leader in the fashion world for 40 years, longer than Belgian creators such as Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester. After studying at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, the designer worked as a freelance consultant designer before founding his eponymous fashion house, Dries Van Noten, in 1986. Initially focusing on menswear, he began to work on womenswear a few years later.
For nearly 40 years, Van Noten has cultivated a vibrant aesthetic characterized by masterful tailoring and rich textures, delighting in the interplay of color, texture, light, pattern, and materials. His prowess in design was recognized when he was awarded the Designer of the Year Award in 2014, and further honored with the French “Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” in 2016.
Van Noten said, “I want to shift my focus to all the things I never had time for,” and expressed his feelings as “I’m sad, but at the same time happy.”
The second half of the email also thanked the entire team at the brand for “during these years, 38 to be precise, you gave me the chance and the energy to produce four collections a year, to stage shows, to open stores, and make DVN the success it is today,” and ended with the words, “I’m sure of this: the DVN future remains bright,” he concluded with hope for the brand’s new chapter.
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