What an exciting week for Dries Van Noten! A Fall 2014 show and a two-year-in-the-making major exhibition at the Museée des Arts, offering insights to the designer’s living mind, next to the Louvre Paris. And what doesn’t make a more flourishing creative simultaneity by getting inspired by the tropics on Les Arts Décoratifs itself for the Fall 2014 collection in the Parisian runways? By functioning himself in this exhibition, it dawned him to probe into museum’s archives and scraping past centuries works to mold his new collection. The vibrant and playful splashes of colors in his Fall 2014 is the restoration of Les Arts Décoratifs in Dries’ mind. Bridget Riley’s Op Art graphics were an additive inspiration what with the edgy chic twist on the garments. It was a color-centric rave with a touch of androgynous on the frantic-focused clothes this season: “Coutorama”
Van Noten wanted to do fun and color thus “Coutorama”, with the acid tees and the rave sweats happening on the graphic motifs and centric lines. There were psychedelic floral and 3D corsages concealing the shoulders and oversized floral prints on pins and necklaces but also at times revealing a tropical feel floral that was a burst of sensation or the hand-painted silver flowers to give a humane erratic astray. There was a juxtaposition application of the classics with green and gray circles fused on a mannish coat or bright discs on a tony T-shirt. All the randomness appearing was intentional by Dries, which becomes the art of it all. Full visual bombshell was on canary yellow or gray panel of circles on belted jackets tinted in fuchsia and gray twisted stripes or the canary yellow striped-boxes on vibrant green sweaters paired with bright fuchsia and blue slouchy genie pants. And don’t forget the high contrasting silk and sequins in blue and orange and maroon and blue for the gracefully bold godet skirts and dresses. No silhouettes were bold as they were slouchy to give the noisy patterns and burst of colors a leeway to pop.
Dries Van Noten gave classic silhouettes a wearable opportunity to blend with electric patterns, which risks are worth dying for. The thirties-style glam rock randomness is just what Van Noten needed to reconnect a new course before his museum exhibition debut to his life work’s attributes. A rave culture, indeed, Mr. Dries – “Coutorama” vulture descended! (Text Nadilla Sari Ratman)