Mood board: So many of the clothes that Dries Van Noten showed last season looked familiar to the eye. He even claimed that the long, double-breasted tailored coat that opened the show was an exact replica of one he had shown 20 years earlier! This felt like the crux of S/S 2018 too. The collection of beautiful separates was devoid of any specific theme or overtly political reference. They ushered in a sensible, pragmatic approach to dressing, which is something that Van Noten has been selling for decades. For the new season his roomy blazers, languid trench coats and wide leg trousers came in assorted artful colours from rust to olive and coffee to mushroom, aubergine and sage.
Scene setting: The setting for the show was the old headquarters for the famed leftist Paris daily Libération. The paper vacated its historic offices located in an old garage in 2015 where it had been since 1986. Stretching over eight floors around a spiral corridor, the roof terrace displayed a 360-degree view of the city. Van Noten sent the models across four floors and more than five rooms, each lined with old files and books. The soundtrack to the show was a mix of Miles Davis’ ponderous Visite du Vigile, Slug, and Galapagos by the Ghent-based five-man jazz band, STUFF.
Finishing touches: The devil is in the detail – Van Noten played on texture as matt was with sheen and the silhouette had an architectural drowsiness. There were hints of Americana too as zip up collar jackets featured floral yarn embroidery down the front and large prints of florals and fronds clashed with geometrics.
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Year in review: top 10 design stories of 2024Wallpaper* magazine's 10 most-read design stories of 2024 whisk us from fun Ikea pieces to the man who designed the Paris Olympics, and 50 years of the Rubik's Cube
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Sharon Smith's Polaroids capture 1980s New York nightlifeIDEA Books has launched a new monograph of Smith’s photographs, titled Camera Girl and edited by former editor-in-chief of LIFE magazine, Bill Shapiro
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A multifaceted Beverly Hills house puts the beauty of potentiality in the frameA Beverly Hills house in Trousdale, designed by Robin Donaldson, brings big ideas to the residential scale
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Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France FemmesMarking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
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Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
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Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear showsFrom giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
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Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Chanel A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s -
Y/Project A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Sacai A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Alexander McQueen A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s
