What Do We want? We want Dries...when do we want him? Noten!

DRIES VAN NOTEN HOLD A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART <3

He is one of my favourite designers for a number of reasons...the silhouettes, the prints, his ability to not get sucked into the fashion game but still be very much at the forefront of it...

I have included my favourite looks below...there are A LOT.

What I loved about this collection was the balance between the printed and plain colour blocked items.  Van Noten has the ability to create a collection where you literally find yourself lusting after every piece, as they are quirky, beautifully made and utterly wearable.

On the plain separates, I loved the reworked mandaring collar detailing he included at the neckline.  He shortened the pattern so that it ended mid collar bone, which brings a refined, modern aesthetic to the pieces.  He introduced this new take on the mandarin collar on woven jackets, shirts an tops.  There were lots of interesting new ideas and shapes taking form on tops, which was really exciting to see.  Personal favourites of mine were the assymetric ruffle (just inserted on one side), the double sleeve detailing (extended combined with set in) and the double flare mid lenght printed sleeve. 

Detailing was kept minimal on shirts, but interest was added by the use of monochrome colour blocking (contrast from collar to main body) and with concealed plackets.  If buttons were introduced, they were kept dyed to match to fabric, so not really noticeable.

The use of print was fantastic in this collection, blew me away! it was the combination of photographic imaging, the hand drawn illustrations and the juxtaposition of these- using panelling combined with geometric shapes (Van Noten used and mixed printed squares and circles  - no doubt inspired by the recent 60's trend that has took over the world!)

As I mentioned before, the shapes used throughout the collection were wearable and minimalistic, but failed to be boring with the use of quirky details.  I guess that if you are using such beautiful prints then you don't need to introduce over fussy shapes.

One major trend confirmed from the SS12 shows so far is the peplum construction that a lot of designer's have used in their collections....these appeared both on tops and dresses.  What does Dries Van Noten do??  Being the genius that he is, he introduces it on trousers of course! Absolutely brilliant.  This is definately an item that I am going to be saving up for.

Yes Dries, you deserve a high five after gracing us with this collection....

put it there!!!