DRIES VAN NOTEN SS22: An Interwoven Tapestry of Colour & Patterns

21 January 2022

Dries Van Noten has long been associated with the avant-garde, with his SS22 collection representing why.

In 1986, a group of young and up-and-coming designers had begun to disrupt the fashion sphere, cutting through the noise with an avant-garde approach to garments, materials and construction techniques. Those six designers all hailed from Antwerp, Belgium, graduating from The Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980 and 1981. The collective was aptly dubbed the Antwerp Six by the press at the time — a name that’s now grown to become synonymous with the cutting edge.

One member of the collective is Dries Van Noten: a designer renowned for his exuberant approach to prints, colours and materials. As the third generation in a family of tailors, Van Noten takes a meticulous approach to fabrics, splicing contrasting textures, patterns and colours together with razor-sharp precision.

For SS22, Dries Van Noten shows no signs of slowing down the momentum witnessed in those halcyon days of the Antwerp Six. The collection is centred around promoting enjoyment, a focus that’s immediately clear in the vibrancy and playfulness of the garments: bomber jackets covered in hazy, technicolour graphics, camo patterns fused with bright oranges and shirts constructed from materials that're laser cut and perforated.