MODELS WEAR ALL CLOTHING DRIES VAN NOTEN.
PHOTOGRAPHY JASON EVANS
Models Yana Van Ginnelken at Ulla. Hanne Gaby and Julia Hafstrom at IMG. Fei Fei Sun at Select.
the stars are out tonight
150 i-D
“Music has always been important to me. I’m the youngest in my family, so I was the one my sisters always used to practise dancing with. I learned the classics from them: the cha-cha-cha, the waltz, all these things...” DRIES VAN NOTEN i-D 151
152 i-D
i-D 153
154 i-D
i-D 155
156 i-D
i-D <#Y#>
TEXT ANDERS CHRISTIAN MADSEN
it’s more than music, it’s magic One of fashion’s greatest showmen, Dries Van Noten’s catwalk soundtracks have provided a romantic backdrop for his collections for more than two decades. Photographed backstage at his spring/summer 15 show, these psychedelic images channel the free-spirited and bohemian sounds reminiscent of the Summer of Love. When Dries Van Noten was a teenager, he discovered David Bowie. It was the 70s and
an observer. “I would love to play the piano, but I can’t. I was forced to go to music school
British avant-garde rock was covering Europe in a thick coat of glitter and hair dye, even
for four years, but then my mother gave up,” he smiles. “Not me, because I’d already
at the Jesuit school in Antwerp where the retailer’s son, who would eventually become
given up from the first moment!” Instead, his childhood instilled in him music’s closest
the dream spinner of fashion, was cutting his prodigal teeth. Bowie became one of his
relative in the shape of dance. “I was the youngest at home so I was the one my sisters
heroes, and when Dries was 19, in 1977, the singer wrote the anthem to back it up:
always used to practise with. I learned the classics from them: the cha-cha-cha, the
Heroes. Nearly four decades later, in 2011, Dries – now one of the world’s most influential
waltz, all these things.” Dries’ spring/summer 15 men’s collection, which revisited his
designers – decided to base his autumn/winter collections on his lifelong hero. And he
graduate collection from 1981, paid homage to his dance idol Rudolf Nureyev, and was
needed the anthem to go with it. Fast-forward through lengthy permission processes,
scored with music from the contemporary Belgian dance company, Rosas, headed by
the master tape was finally located, sitting in an undisclosed storage site untouched
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker for whom Dries has designed costumes. Since his time at
since the 70s. And like a circle of eminent artistry come full, the fan became responsible
the Antwerp Academy, he has been infatuated with the finer things in performance (he
for restoring his hero’s record, one of the most significant of the 20th century.
lists La Bohème and seeing the late Pina Bausch as major moments of his life), but the
“Bowie,” Dries pauses, “that was more complicated,” his loud understatement present
Dries Van Noten world of devotions isn’t strictly highbrow.
as ever. Since putting on his first runway show in 1992, the Belgian designer has earned
Previous show soundtracks count Britney Spears’ Toxic, Madonna’s version of American
his place as one of fashion’s greatest showmen, no challenge being too big in his strive
Pie, and Snoop Dogg’s Drop It Like It’s Hot. “It’s all about hearing a song. It’s not that
for dramatic excellence. And that goes for his soundtracks, too. For his spring/summer
I’m so calculated that I say, ‘Oh, it would be good to do this for my image; to associate
07 men’s show, he asked Jah Wobble to use his track, How Much Are They? “He was an
myself with something new.’ It can be as much of a cliché as something classic. I think
early 80s underground musician, kind of reggae type thing. We asked him if we could
one of the most successful soundtracks we did was a soundtrack of slows only. The most
have the parts of his song and he said, ‘I can’t find them… but I’ll send them to you. So
cliché, teary slows like I’m not in Love by 10cc,” he recalls. “And the more dramatic the
we received all the samples, but they weren’t in fact the samples. He’d just re-recorded
show became the more melodramatic the slows became. So in the finale everybody was
the whole thing! For him it was easier than trying to find the originals.” Pragmatics
crying.” It’s the kind of emotional showstopper Dries is infamous for, something that’s
would ask themselves why they couldn’t simply have played the original radio edit, but
become a form of rebellion on his part. “It’s not really to make them cry, but emotion is
for Dries such lethargy would be unthinkable.
nice. I’m not afraid of clichés. At the moment everything in fashion has to be cool. You
“When you go for an iconic song, what I don’t want for a show that lasts between
can’t show an emotion. So I say, ‘Now you’re gonna get it really full-on, with the music,
eight and ten minutes is to have one song for the first five minutes and another for the
the lights, the whole thing!’ Because I want to create emotion.”
last five minutes. It’s important that we have the parts and can make a new extended
Dries admits, however, that using hit songs for shows can be a hazard. “You have hits,
version of it, and that it still sounds good, because I think the least you can do when
which people get bored with, and you have more instant classics, which you can play
you use an iconic song is to not mess it up by cutting it up and repeating some parts
whenever you want.” For the reopening of his Antwerp store some 12 years ago, he only
to make it long enough, no,” he says. “I think you make a new composition.” It is this
played Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head all night. “In all different remixes,”
respect for his inspirations and willingness to make them his own, which runs through
he says. “It was Michel Gaubert [also featured in this issue]’s idea. Everybody was
the veins of the designer’s entire universe. His grittily opulent 60,000 sq ft building on
completely drunk and I think for the next week, Antwerp was still singing la-la-la. So,
the Godefriduskaai in Antwerp is abundant with majestic treasures from all over the
you see, you can make something conceptual even of Kylie Minogue.” Perhaps it’s the
world, and around the six floors of the house his disciples are currently hard at work on
wrong time to ask him what he’d like them to play when his coffin gets carried out of the
the second instalment of his aptly titled exhibition, Inspirations, which opens in Antwerp
cathedral, but here it goes. “It’s difficult to say Kylie Minogue… but maybe, why not?”
this February.
Dries quips. “Have fun and enjoy!”
Musical elements take up a significant part of the exhibition, but Dries insists he’s simply
driesvannoten.be
“One of the most successful show soundtracks we ever did included I’m not in Love by 10cc. The more dramatic the show became the more melodramatic the song became. So in the finale everybody was crying.” DRIES VAN NOTEN
158 i-D
i-D 159