FashionFame

Dries Van Noten brought 19th century explorers’ adventures back to vibrant life during his recent fashion show at Paris Fashion Week. He unveiled a line of exquisite fabrics, extraordinary prints and imprudent wearable clothes with brilliant mix of colors.

It was clear from very first outfit on runway, that we were in for a feast of sumptuous pageantry for the day. The first look featured a pink brocade coat, with golden brocade, slim-cut, cropped trousers. Van Noten gathered most adorable silks, satins, embroideries and handwoven materials from the most far-flung areas across the world.

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One of the handwoven, “Ikat” printed fabrics from Uzbekistan, had undergone a two-day journey by donkey, across river-beds and mountain ranges, in order to reach a DHL courier rendezvous, so it could be transported to his studio in Antwerp.

Other handwoven fabrics were from Sumatra, Bali and India, or developed in consultation with museum curators in China and Japan. The result was a treasure chest of satin, silk and brocade, printed in dazzling, age-old prints, patterns, and paisleys inspired by long-gone empires and dynasties.

Rainbow-bright colors of a tropical jungle, mingled with duller, khaki shades of earth and sand. Silver and gold beading and complicated embroideries were sprinkled like favors at the court of Genghis Khan. Chokers, necklaces, and cuffs continued extravaganza of opulence with multi-roped pearls, dazzling stones, crystals and rhinestones.

The shapes were contemporary like cuffed shorts, kimono-jackets, slim pants, shell-tops, sashed jackets, vests and pinafores. Markedly striking was Van Noten’s sari-style evening gowns, where a luxuriant drapes of multi-hued, gilded silk, was caught at hip of a metallic shell top.

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