Dries Van Noten S/S 2018

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.