Dries Van Noten Spring Summer 2025: Legendary Designer’s Dazzling Final Bow Stuns Fashion World

Text by Ethan Hall
Imagery courtesy of Dries Van Noten, Patricia Buren and Kotaro Iizuka; collages courtesy of Kevin Pineda

Spring Summer 2025 by Dries Van Noten will be his last, however this was not a show centered around nostalgia. Although there were nods to his previous shows, such as the location, which was used for his 50th show in 2004, and the silver leaf runway, which was an ode to his gold leaf runway from 2006, Dries focussed on his forward looking creativity - his experimentation and innovation. 

The show opened with a clean silhouette, predominantly composed of the black jacket that fell to just above the models ankles, which revealed a sliver of the black shirt underneath and the bottom of some khaki trousers. Additionally, the model wore sandals that were seen throughout the rest of the show. 

Dries’ innovation was mainly composed of his use of organza and suminagashi floral prints. When he sent down the organza jackets, shirts and trousers down the runway the organza pulled the layers (or lack of) beneath to merge, which created depth to the look like an x-ray. This feeling was really emphasized as he sent down a jacket followed by its organza counterpart.

Furthermore, his experimentation with suminagashi printing techniques were first seen on shirts and then impressed his audience with the merging of the textile and printing technique as he followed them up with organza jackets printed using suminagashi. 

Initially, the show began with some trims of gold and silver embroidery across a few shirts, jackets and trousers. However, as the show began to ramp up striking silhouettes of gold and silver came down the runway. The most memorable pieces were these garments were predominantly silver but when catching the light would gloss over with a gold sheen. A lot like the gold and silver embroidery, these silhouettes are the shiny trim of the show that will be remembered for decades to come. 

The coats and jackets were majestic as a whole. Some delivered clean and crisp overcoats and top coats that hugged the body in a slim fit and others held more interesting and accentuated shapes around the body. The colours were a mix of contrasting pinks and purples with somber blacks and greys. However, his experimentation was not just left at the organza and suminagashi. He experimented with interesting textiles such as a mohair fabric that engulfed the model that revealed some of the white fabric beneath the hairs to create layers in the garment. Furthermore, he also experimented with interesting silhouettes such as the coat that seemed constructed of pillows in the front.

The small elements of nostalgia were perfectly laid out just subtly enough that they didn’t upstage the rest of his show so that his experimentation and innovation could remain at the forefront.

Many gathered to witness his last show, a good 33 years since his first in 1991, including members from the Antwerp Six, such as Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Haider Ackerman, Thom Browne and Glenn Martens. Even Martin Margiela was rumoured to be stealthily hiding in the crowd. Although one may think it would be a melancholy show, it was a strong and endearing last goodbye from Dries.