Dries Van Noten
Dries Van Noten
Biography
Born in Antwerp in 1958, Dries Van Noten is the third generation in a family of tailors. At the age of 18, Dries entered the fashion design course of Antwerp’s Royal Academy. On graduating, he began to freelance as a consultant designer before starting his own collection of menswear in 1986. Since its beginnings Dries Van Noten has presented collections for women and men for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter each year. He
celebrated his 50th fashion show in 2004 and 100th fashion show in 2017.
In June 2008, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honoured Dries Van Noten with its International
Designer of the Year Award. 2014 began with the grand opening of Dries Van Noten, “Inspirations”, a first
ever exhibition featuring his designs and influences at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Another
configuration of the exhibit moved to Antwerp in 2015. In July France decorated Dries Van Noten with the
honour of ‘Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.’ In October 2016, Dries Van Noten wins the Culture
Award from The Province of Antwerp for his contribution to Culture.
In June 2018 Puig entered the capital structure of Dries Van Noten as majority owner. The designer remains, over the long term, a significant minority shareholder and continues his role as chief creative officer and chairman of the board.
2019 saw Mr Van Noten collaborate with world renowned fashion designer Mr Christian Lacroix on his
collection for Women, Spring/Summer 2020. In June 2020, and September 2021, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has again nominated Dries Van Noten for its International Designer of the Year Award.
Q&A with dries van noten
When did you know that designing clothes was your path & passion?
There was a certain logic to my choice as my family had been involved in fashion and the garment business for generations. My father created one of Belgium’s most innovative retailers of ‘Pret-a-Porter’ and my grandfather was a tailor. I inherited my love of garment making, its traditions and rituals, from these men and my mother. Family immersed me in the craft and skill of fabrics, impassioned me with the power of flair and style for women and men that fired my quest to explore and question the subjectivity of “beauty” and the role it would play in my life. My family was very supportive and encouraged me to continue its fashion tradition. I regularly accompanied my parents to Paris and Milan on their many buying trips for collections. Though they had imagined I might take over the retail business, that I was passionate to become a fashion designer came as a great surprise to them.
What is your design signature?
I see a garment as a singular item of excellence that is part of a larger story told, firstly, within a designer’s vision for a collection and ultimately as part of the final wearer’s expression of their style through their wardrobe. My joy is to create a garment that fuses and balances beauty, craft and function, a garment that can perform well and continue in time to become part of life’s story. I enjoy juggling with colours, textures and light in a way that evokes rather than provokes.
Where do you come up with your best ideas?
The spark of inspiration for the narrative a collection rarely ever comes in the same way. The initial idea can sometimes come quickly and remain constant throughout the design process… occur on a walk in my garden, encountering a painting or the life and work of an artist. It can be something rarefied or ordinary, for example, suddenly looking at something that has surrounded me every day and seeing it in a different way that inspires. It can be a photograph in a book or a magazine, a re-read passage in a loved book, a conversation with friends or my design team or a piece of music. For other collections the story is more of a journey, deliberate, considered, and evolves through time and the design process. Anything can be that spark that ignites the creative process. What I have learned is that one recognises the spark when it happens, it may not be too planned, be ‘of its time’ and is more emotional than cerebral.
Is there a difference between style and fashion?
Of course, style comes from within..
What colour or fabric would you never use?
None actually! Often, challenging myself to work with colours, fabrics, or forms that I have disliked and bringing them into a collection can be an important aspect of the creative process.
What is beauty?
The idea of beauty is supremely subjective and very personal. Time also plays a role when our view on what is beautiful to us evolves. A flower, a building or a garment can be a thing of wonder for one while leaving another completely indifferent. What was beautiful to us even recently may be ugly today. Luckily, all designers have their own eye on and language of beauty.
What is ugliness?
It resonates in the same way as beauty for me. It is exciting when the formerly ugly becomes beautiful.
Timeline
- 1981 Dries Van Noten graduates from Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp
- 1986 Dries Van Noten started his first own collection of menswear after working as a freelance consultant designer
- 1989 Flagship store opens in Antwerp, Belgium
- 2004 50th Show
- 2007 Paris store opens at Quai Malaquais, Paris France
- 2008 Dries Van Noten wins Internation Designer of the year at CFDA awards./ Dries Van Noten Sacred “Royal Designer for Industry” from the RSA Trustee Board in London
- 2009 Flagship store opens in Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan/ Stores opens for the men at Quai Malaquais, Paris, France
Dries Van Noten Induction to The “Galerie Des Eminents” By The Flemish Chamber Of Commerce (Voka)
Dries van Noten is gifted a gold medal by The Flemish Royal Academy of Belgium
Dries Van Noten Is Honored With the “Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion” By the Couture Council of the Museum at Fit In New York - 2010 Dries Van Noten Is Invited To Preside Over the 25th Edition of the “Festival International De Mode et De Photographie” of Hyres, France
- 2013 Olfactory portrait by Frederic Malle with The Nose Bruno Jonanovic
- 2014 xhibition at The Musée Des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France
A book that accompanied his exhibition at Musée des arts Décoratifs in Paris, France - 2015 Dries Van Noten is decorated by Jack Lang of the medal
Opening of Dries Van Noten Osaka - 2016 Wins Culture Award from The Province of Antwerp
- 2017 An intimate portrait into the life, mind and creative heart the designer
A book in two volumes that depicts and documents his first 100 collection and Fashion shows
In recognition of his career as fashion designer and his contribution to the Cultural life of his native land - 2018 DVN enters in partnership with Puig as Major Stakeholders
- 2019 Collaboration with Mr Christian Lacroix
- 2020 Nominated by The CFDA for International Designer of The Year Award
Stores opens in Shanghai, China
Flagship stores opens in Los Angeles, USA the first Dries Van Noten store in the Unites States of America
Godefriduskaai 36 Antwerpen 2000 Belgium
Sigi
SigiThe Art of Knitting
Craftsmanship and experimentation define the culture of Sigi. We focus on creating new depths of colour and texture through the mixing of different yarns to present new and innovative designs that are instantly recognisable.
We have a deep respect and care for the knitwear we produce as well as the way in which we produce it. This is why we ensure that all of our knitwear is made in Belgium by real craftsmen and women under the best possible working conditions. These elements help define the culture we want to nurture with the Sigi brand.
Family
At SIGI we are proud of our family heritage with over 40 years of experience in the field of knitwear. Ilia Sigi Eckardt grew up in Antwerp in a very creative family where knitting was essential to the household. Being considered true experts in their field, mother Hilde Frunt and son Ilia Eckardt have been collaborating with Belgium’s best and brightest designers: Dries Van Noten, Raf Simons, Ann Demeulemeester and many more.
Made In Belgium
We do all our research, designing and development in our offices in the heart of Antwerp. Sourcing from our local pool of amazing talent is something we take great pride in. We have great faith in our local potential.
We are an independent creative label based in Brussels mainly active in the fashion, music and audiovisual sector.
BE. by Emilie Beaumont
BE. by Emilie BeaumontGRADUATED IN FASHION DESIGN AT THE BRUSSELS SCHOOL OF “LA CAMBRE” IN 2007, EMILIE BEAUMONT HAS GAINED A LOT OF VISIBILITY OVER THE YEARS.
AFTER BEING THE FINAL CONTENDERS AT THE BRUSSELS “FASHION WEEKEND” IN 2006, SHE WAS ALSO RETAINED AMONG THE TEN FINALISTS AT THE WELL KNOWN FASHION FESTIVAL AT HYÈRES (FRANCE) IN 2007. IT WAS AT THIS FESTIVAL THAT SHE WAS SPOTTED BY CHRISTIAN LACROIX, PRESIDENT OF THE JURY, WHO EXPRESSED HIS PARTICULAR INTEREST IN HER COLLECTIONS DURING AN INTERVIEW ON FRANCE 3 TELEVISION.
EMILIE BEAUMONT STARTED HER PROFESSIONAL CAREER THROUGH VARIOUS EXPERIENCES AT FASHION HOUSES SPECIALIZED IN PRÊT-A-PORTER AND LUXURY PRODUCTS. SHE FOLLOWED TRAININGS AT VERONIQUE BRANQHINO’S IN ANTWERP, AT LOEWE’S IN MADRID AND WITH THE FAMOUS ALEXANDER MCQUEEN IN LONDON.
HER PROJECTS AND UNDERTAKINGS IN THE WORLD OF FASHION HAVE BEEN AS VARIED AS PLENTIFUL: A “LIVE” DRAWING OF A SILHOUETTE AT THE 2008 INAUGURATION OF BIP (BRUSSELS INFO PLACE), PRESENTING HER COLLECTION AT THE “BREAD AND BUTTER” FAIR IN JANUARY 2008 AND A NOTABLE PARTICIPATION AT THE “SECOND HAND, SECOND LIFE” FASHION SHOW, A CHARITY EVENT IN OCTOBER 2008 DURING WHICH HER REMARKABLE PIECES WERE AUCTIONED OFF.
VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS IN BELGIUM, FRANCE AND ITALY WERE DEVOTED TO HER, REFERENCING HER RICH AND VARIED CAREER SO FAR.
EMILIE BEAUMONT HAS RECENTLY LAUNCHED HER PERSONAL COLLECTION “B.E. BY EMILIE BEAUMONT” OF WHICH SHE PRESENTED HER FIRST COLLECTION FOR MEN “B.E. MEN SUMMER 2011” AT THE “BRUSSELS MODO FESTIVAL” IN OCTOBER 2010.
THROUGHOUT HER DESIGNS OF WOMEN’S CLOTHING, SHE HAS FOUND INSPIRATION IN MEN’S FASHION. DESIGNING MEN’S CLOTHING HAS BEEN THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP FOR EMILIE BEAUMONT.
DESIGNING AND MANUFACTURING IN BELGIUM, EMILIE BEAUMONT DEVELOPS HER COLLECTIONS INCLUDING GARMENTS AND ACCESSORIES SUCH AS A SERIES OF SCREENPRINTED LEATHER BAGS IN LIMITED QUANTITIES.
KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THIS PROMISING FASHION DESIGNER.
Suit Solutions
Suit Solutions
Are you looking for an experienced tailor? Emin has had his sewing workshop for more than 20 years now. In the beginning, the focus was mainly on retouching for renowned boutiques in and outside Antwerp, and tailor-made clothing.
The tailor Emin Aliyev designs – together with you – your tailor-made clothing. He guides you – step by step – in choosing the fabric, the cut, the lining, the buttons, and other finishes …
Need an experienced tailor?
SuitSolutions has its own workshop for customization, repairs and retouching of all kinds of clothing
Our tailoring services
Have clothing made to measure (retouches)
In recent years, there has also been an increasing demand for a tailor with an eye for the right fit – whether it is to update existing garments or to have newly purchased designer clothes perfectly adapted (retouches) – or to tailor clothing.
Full Tailored Clothing
SuitSolutions also offers the contemporary stylish man tailor-made solutions at very competitive prices. The suits, vests and overcoats are made according to traditional craft methods with sustainable quality fabrics such as vital Barberis, Ariston, Holland & Sherry, Scabal, etc…
Clothing repairs
We all know it, your most beautiful jacket, pants or skirt has a tear, the zipper is broken. It would be a shame to just throw away your expensive clothes and let alone favorite clothes while you can still wear them. That is why we also repair your garments so that you can wear them for a few more years!
How does a tailor work?
Step 1: Make an appointment
To ensure that we can take your measurements in peace, we recommend that you make an appointment in advance. Together with you we look at an ideal moment during or after office hours when it suits you!
Step 2: Take measurements
A perfect fit is crucial for tailoring. The tailor will take your measurements, so he can determine the perfect fit of your garment.
Step 3: Choice of fabrics & accessories
After measuring your measurements, we will discuss the possible fabrics, the color of the lining and all the options with you. The tailor will give you professional advice on all possible finishes.
Step 4: Delivery of Creation
Depending on the complexity, your tailor-made suit, jacket, shirt, trousers or other multi-piece creation will be ready after a few weeks. The tailor checks with you whether everything feels comfortable.
Real craft: more than just designing tailor-made clothing
The profession of a tailor mainly consists of making tailor-made clothes. The craft is thousands of years old and dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. This concerns different types of clothing such as trousers, skirts, jackets, shirts, jackets, but also suits.
A good tailor not only makes new clothes, but also repairs or adjusts clothes according to body measurements. For example, it is about repairing a zipper or taking a pair of pants or vest. That is why we also speak of a tailor, tailor or costume designer!
All the qualities of a good tailor
Is a perfectionist – he works very precisely to offer the customer a garment that fits exactly and is beautifully finished
Is accurate – not only by delivering work that is in line with customer expectations but also the finishing of the creation
Punctual – this by having the garments ready on time on an agreed date so that you can wear it for the occasion
Energetic, customer-oriented, creative – are of course also important qualities or competencies of a good tailor.
Experienced tailor with own studio in Belgium
Are you looking for an experienced tailor in Belgium? SuitSolutions has its tailor shop in the center of Antwerp. Our customers come from East Flanders, West Flanders, Brussels, Flemish Brabant and also the Netherlands for our expertise in tailor-made clothing.
Make an appointment or visit our clothing store where we will be happy to show you the various options for both women’s and men’s clothing, retouches, repairs.
OPENING HOURS
AFTER APPOINTMENT 18.00 – 20.30
Closed on Mondays
Tuesday 10.00 – 13.00 / 14.00 – 18.00
Wednesday 10.00 – 13.00 / 14.00 – 18.00
Thursday 10.00 – 13.00 / 14.00 – 18.00
Friday 10.00 – 13.00 / 14.00 – 18.00
Saturday 10.00 – 13.00 / 14.00 – 16.30
Closed on Sundays
Frankrijklei 76 Bus 1 Antwerpen 2000 Belgium
Very Important Pixels is a fresh brand that features iconic pixel portraits on fashionable tops and sweaters. Inspired by 80s video games, Belgian designer Kristof Saelen has developed an original and unique style in which he handcrafts his works pixel by pixel
Very Important Pixels™ is a series of illustrations inspired by icons from the past and present. Each pixel portrait has been manually crafted starting from a blank canvas.
A selected collection of works was featured on apparel and other fashionable merchandise and got picked up by world-renowned boutiques such as Kitson (LA), Patricia Field (NYC), Colette (Paris), Spectrum (Milan), Venturer (Tokyo) and many more. Online prominent mentions and interviews include features on Wired, El País (Spain), My Modern Met and numerous blogs and papers. T-shirts and merch are still available online.
Visit our Rarible collection to find limited edition collectibles, hosted on the Ethereum blockchain in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Each purchased artwork automatically registers the buyer as a certified owner and unlocks secret features such as exclusive access to source files and unpublished artwork versions.
T.VDB is the artistic fashion studio founded by Belgian multi-disciplinary fashion artist Tom Van der Borght.
The label focuses on humans rather than gender, as the core of T.VDB is hard to pinpoint under one binary definition, description or title.
T.VDB works as an independent artist, with a focus on fashion, textile, graphics, video, installation and scenography.
He is the producer of his own free work and works on commission for various partners.
Tom Van der Borght got his Fashion Design degree in 2012 at the Stedelijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten of Sint-Niklaas. Both during and after his studies he won international fashion prices and competitions.
From 2012 to 2016 he had the pleasure of showing his work during Berlin, Paris, London and Panama Fashion Week. His collections were sold in the USA, Japan and across Europe.
As a commissioned artist T.VDB worked for companies like Mercedes-Benz, Premiere Vision, DS Automobiles and Le19M. Next to that he creates artwork and video’s for national and international music artists.
In 2021 Tom received a master degree at Zuyd Hogeschool Maastricht, focusing on the intersection between performance, fashion and artistic research.
Before studying arts, Tom got his bachelors degree in Social Studies and worked for in various social organisations for several years.
Discovering at the age of 27 he suffers from a heriditary neuropathic muscle disorder confronted T.VDB with the question what is really important in life. This was the catharsic moment when he decided to study fashion design and pursue his childhood dreams.
During his study he was already confronted with the borders between fashion and art. Reflecting on his own background in social work and his own personal disposition in life led to questioning social structures, definitions, limits, … The visual language T.VDB develops goes far beyond clothes and is always creating a highly personal and questioning universe. It combines media and is crossing borders between fashion and arts.
T.VDB has an ongoing fascination for defects and errors, which comes from his own experience and the questioning of the genetic errors that shaped the designer from his birth.
Finding a place in society has always been a core element in Van der Borght’s work and life. This generated a strong interest for tribal culture, rituals and alternative/indigenous/ social structures, including elements like costumes, ritual dance and performative acts.
Being born in a typical Flemish middle class family, where culture didn’t really exist, T.VDB was fascinated by pop culture, MTV and subcultures.
“My first fashion inspiration came from the 80s, when i looked to magazines like “Mode, C’est Belge”. My mother’s classic couture training also influenced me in my love Of clothing.”
Later on in life I got introduced to more “higher” forms of “culture”. Essential in my work is the mix of those two opposites of “culture”, not necessarily as rivals or opposites. “
Marcel Duchamps once quoted : “ I do not believe in Art, I believe in Artists”.
T.VDB’s generous attitude and authentic radical way of thinking define him as a designer and an artist.
T.VDB ’s view on fashion (and clothes) isn’t purely economics:
his work could be seen as artistic objects. Clothes and outfits become part of a bigger pictures and crossing borders leads to creating a full universe, a total package.
It results in a fascination for creating video, scenography, performance and alternative ways of presentation.
A catwalk presentation has a very strong performative energy, being a boost of energy, a “hic et nunc” reflection on the present with a big artistic value.
Fashion is always a representation of the present. In his work T.VDB translates this in trying to marry the past to the future (which for him is the essence of “present”).
In 2019, T.VDB took a restart. He focuses on an elaborate masterpiece “7 ways to be TVDB”, which is a multidisciplinary selfportrait that borders on the edges between high tech bricolage, haute couture, avantgardistic fashion and low tech performance. A first stage of this work was presented in the FashionClash festival in Maastricht , and won both the Grand Jury Festival Prize as the Audience Award. With this collection the designer won the prestigious Grand Prix du Jury at the 35th Festival Internationale de La Mode de Hyères in 2020, as well as the highly desired Public Prize. His jubilant, theatrical men’s collection was praised by designer Jonathan Anderson, who presided over a jury that included, among others, consultant Amanda Harlech, model Kaia Gerber, sound maverick Michel Gaubert, photographer Tyler Mitchell, journalist Derek Blasberg and editor-in-chief of GQ, Oliver Lalanne
“What we really, really admired in the work of Tom Van Der Borght is that it was a totally new type of form, new type of shape, new type of commitment to a silhouette, and it was uncompromising,” Anderson said during a remote award ceremony. “And in this moment we are in, we as a jury believe that it was about starting this new decade with newness, this idea of originality.” Anderson continued: “It was not about looking at something for its automatic commercial sense. It was about the beauty within fashion, the handmade, the technique, and the risk in it. And I think Tom has really achieved something in what he has done and I think he will go on to do very well.”
In 2021, T.VDB had the honour to open Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Berlin, with a stunning performance he created with choreographer Blanca Li, to accompany his latest collection.
For the 36th edition of the International Festival de la Mode, he launches his new collection “Time For Love”. The collection was realised in close collaboration with Le19M, Chanel’s legendary “ateliers des Metièrs d’Art” and the support of Premiere Vision.
In the troubled world we are living in nowadays, all of us are urging for connection and closeness. We’ve been distanced, physically and psychologically but now, it’s time for love.
T.VDB welcomes you to a brighter future and a celebration of human connection. The collection is an invitation to enter the playful and colorful universe of the collection. Garments leave the borders of the individual human body and search for connections with other humans through cut, detail and accessories. The pieces play on the intersection of textures, artwork and colour.
Everybody is invited to join this contemporary tribe of neo-hippies, lonesome cowboys and genderfluid hybrid creatures, feeling the emotion in the silence and embracing love as an empowerment tool.
ABOUT US
Made to fit and extraordinarily comfortable, Sizable underwear is the benchmark for the modern man.
As the first layer between our intimate selves and another person’s gaze, we should think of our underwear as a second skin. Although we know it’s there, we ought to be able to forget it. When it comes to choosing underwear, comfort is our main priority. But how can it be comfortable if it is mass produced, sloppily designed and comes in standard sizes? In other words, if it will fit more or less anyone, but doesn’t fit anyone well? It pulls here, it’s too tight there, it moves, it irritates, it sags and finally you throw it away! If we take time and care choosing our shoes, trousers and coats, why not do the same for essential, indispensable underwear? In that respect, Sizable satisfies both a demand and a need.
Perfectly fitting, moisture-absorbing Sizable underwear lets you feel fresh and comfortable all day long. You’ll soon realise how luxurious it is. And with Sizable, you can afford it.
SECOND SKIN, FIRST PRIORITY
By definition, we wear our underwear between our skin and our clothing – except for Superman, that is. It is crucial, therefore, for it to combine several qualities all day, every day. Sizable products offer a combination of comfort, breathability and softness. They are a pleasure to touch and a joy to wear.
MADE-TO-FIT
Inspired by the philosophy of classic craftsmanship, Sizable has devised three body types – Jim, Joe and Jack – three lines competing to achieve a single goal: to ensure your underwear is the perfect fit.
Our garments and underwear are light and invisible, once you’re wearing them, you forget them. You can go about your day with complete peace of mind, Sizable has got you covered.
ETHICALLY MADE IN EUROPE
Created from durable fiber like eucalyptus, bamboo and organic cotton, Sizable garments and underwear are environmentally friendly, sustainable and 100% European-made. In short, eco-responsibility combined with elegance at affordable prices. Sizable is tomorrow’s fashion today.