Dries Van Noten Announces Retirement

Dries Van Noten sent shockwaves through the fashion industry earlier today, as he took to Instagram to announce his retirement, after almost four whole decades in the business. His last show as creative director will be a menswear offering for the Spring 2025 season, scheduled to be unveiled during Menswear Paris Fashion Week in June.

Born in Antwerp, Belgium into a family of garment makers and traders, Dries graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1980. Soon after, the Belgian creative created his eponymous fashion label back in 1986, starting out first with menswear. In 2018, the brand Dries Van Noten built up was taken over by Spanish luxury group Puig. Best known for his use of color and avant garde styles, the most recent Dries Van Noten womenswear collection for Fall 2024 (staged during Paris Fashion Week) received a standing ovation from the members of theFashionSpot forums back in February.

A successor will be announced at a later date. Stay tuned.

Revisit the Dries Van Noten Fall 2024 collection below:

Read below the reactions of theFashionSpot’s forum members:

“I will miss him!” [Norden]

“Dries had me in a chokehold for some time and I wish him and the company the best.” [Salvatore]

“Dries as a person will always be missed for sure, but him as a designer will leave a void for his customers because the brand is just so unique.” [Nolnvite]

“Sad but expected news. From the moment he decided to sell his brand to Puig, it was expected. Dries Van Noten has done a fabulous job and created a fabulous brand. My husband will probably be more sad than me but it’s a testament to Dries. He has created a relationship with his clients, an atmosphere through his stores, that is quite rare in fashion today. He has build an important house while remaining quite humble in the whole operation.” [Lola701]

“It’s sad to see him go and it’s even sadder that we’ll never get another womenswear show from him.” [LadyJunon]

“So sad!” [Ihhbl]

“This really hits home for me. He’s one of my all time favorites, one of the reasons why I feel in love with fashion. His voice, his sensibility, his passion… there is no one like Dries, he’s irreplaceable.” [Marc10]

“Devastating news for me as a Dries customer. It has been on my mind that this day would come inevitably, but I didn’t anticipate it to be now.” [Ives927]

“He has a stunning career and will always be respected. I’m glad I’ve got a chance to have an item under his tenure.” [thiago]

Share your own thoughts on Dries Van Noten stepping down from his own namesake label, here.