Van Noten was born into a family of garment makers and traders: his father owned a menswear shop and his grandfather was a tailor. As a boy, he went with his father to see the shows and collections in Milan, Düsseldorf and Paris and a career in fashion design beckoned. He graduated from the Antwerp Academy in 1980, and began his career in 1986, when he presented his first menswear collection in London as part of the The Antwerp Six collective. After graduating, Van Noten producecd his own collection of blazers, shirts and trousers. The line met with instant success on its launch in 1986 selling to prestigious customers like Barneys, Pauw and Whistles. In September of the same year, Dries Van Noten opened his first eponymous boutique in Antwerp’s gallery arcade. Here he sold his men’s and women’s collections, which were initially made from identical fabrics. Today Van Noten sells his collections all over the world. In addition to his boutiques in Antwerp, Paris, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong, Dries Van Noten works in partnership with some four hundred worldwide boutiques. He has never advertised and has been entirely self-financed since the beginning of his career. His work is characterized by use of ethnic prints, colors, original fabrics and layering. Van Noten currently resides just outside Antwerp, where he exercises his passion for gardening.
