It was a rainy, dark day in Paris. The third day of fashion week started with an auspicious beginning. Despite the hope and excitement that linger in the body in the early phases of a marathon, the weather wasn’t helping. Thankfully, there was something to look forward to: the Dries Van Noten show. My excitement was such that my brain seemingly turned off and I decided to bike to the venue. Quickly, I understood my mistake, but I was too deep in. So, I kept biking. The water had, at one point had so completely infiltrated my layers that I might as well have dipped in the Seine, instead of crossing it.
But even as I walked through the doors of the space where the collection would be shortly unveiled, leaving a snail trail of rainwater, I couldn’t be happier. Julian Klausner’s tenure at the brand has been marked by a distinctive joy. Both in its messaging and the actual garments, the Belgian designer inspires a sunny outlook on life – when I was in desperate need of it.
The show began with the sound of heels hitting pavement. Cars, voices, the noise of a city. It felt like the beginning of a movie. That was the idea. This season, Klausner was inspired by cinema as a mindset. The designer isn’t interested in the idea that an occasion needs to arise to justify dressing up. Instead, an excuse for glamour can be found anywhere the eyes choose to see it. The Hollywood inspiration materialised most concretely in the prints that took over entire garments. Klausner developed classic Hollywood posters to fill these, choosing them as both patterns and the invites for the season – mine has the title “Lacquer and Lace” and is currently on one of my living room walls. These prints became the basis for graphic shirts and cargo skirts, silky jackets and fluid dresses.
For Klausner, glamour isn’t an antonym of everyday life. A slinky cocktail dress appeared over a rugby shirt. Polo shirts were worn with the sleeves pushed up, alongside masculine shirts. The effect was very Dries: a flirty tension that arises when combining unusual partners. Speaking of which, the label’s technical mastery showed in embroidery on mesh overlays in printed garments. With the backdrop of a leopard print or the aforementioned movie posters, these delicate layers hosted heavy jewels. With beauty flooding my eyes, I forgot all about the pool that I was sitting in. In the middle of a grey day, Klausner made a convincing case for the simple pleasure of finding an excuse to make things feel a little more beautiful.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
