011: Rain, Rain, Go Away

My spring outfits want to play

At around the time Dries Van Noten announced he would be retiring from his namesake label after treating us to thirty-eight years of hi delightful and cerebral confections, the false spring relented its deception. Just two weeks ago, prior to the announcement of his departure, I had waxed poetic about Dries. The product of a religious yet superstitious upbringing, upon his announcement I sent a friend a message wondering if my words had somehow jinxed the whole thing. The closing of this chapter is bittersweet. Dries has proved that it is possible to conduct business in the fashion industry with grace and dignity; in a landscape where relationships and commitments have become increasingly flimsy and clothes are secondary, Dries has demonstrated that it is possible to build a successful and beloved label and to create and sell clothes that will be cherished for lifetimes without having to play the game too many have taken part in.

That evening while I was having my hair done, the hair stylist and I were have a chat about what was currently going on fashion. In a manner that was endearing and not at all facetious, she confided that she received most of her news from TikTok. When I shared with her the news about Dries, she admitted she’d never heard of him, and wanted to know more about his impact. I found this information to be oddly comforting, that in a world dominated and commandeered by virality, when it seems as though so much of fashion becomes passé before even going into production, Dries Van Noten operated on a entirely different level, untouched and unbothered, but very much in-tune.

Robin Givhan, the senior critic-at-large at the Washington Post, wrote a beautiful tribute to Dries which perfectly encapsulates the designer’s career and why he was and continues to be beloved:

The brand always seemed adventurous and ambitious but not ravenous. It didn’t try to satisfy all tastes. It continued to stage four runway shows each season: two menswear and two womenswear. Van Noten didn’t fall prey to fashion’s insatiable appetites that have designers creating dozens of collections a year and mounting extravaganzas around the world. He isn’t a throwback. He simply saw a different way forward.

For a designer whose great skill is in combining a multitude of colors and patterns in ways that were lavish and indulgent, he also developed a talent for being able to calmly and happily say, enough. It’s a remarkable sentiment in these insatiable times.

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Lulled by the false spring into prematurely taking my warm-weather clothing out of storage, what else was there to do with the mounds of clothes patiently awaiting their turn in the closet than to dream up outfits for warmer days? Among those lying in wait were some pieces by Dries Van Noten that are very special to me. And so I’ve put together a few looks (a visual testament, if you want to get real pretentious about it) that I feel illustrate the transmutative nature of Dries’ designs in all kinds of weather, uplifting in the highs and enveloping through the lows.

This skirt from Dries Van Noten’s Spring 2020 collection in collaboration with Christian Lacroix is a freak take on couture silhouettes of yore, the kind to have once floated about salons the likes of Cristóbal Balenciaga. On the inner side of the elasticated waistband is a drawstring, which is such a special touch for real people in the real world, so that the skirt can be worn higher or lower on the waist, depending on the mood or the meal of the day. This collection was so sublime in its eccentricity and wanted at least one piece from it, so that when it popped up on the Real Real I couldn’t have bought it any faster. In my one hand is a ludicrously capacious taxi-yellow bag (Fall 2019) folded over, and atop my head a Miu Miu headband from Spring 2017 in the style of swim caps from the 50s and 60s, the kind brilliant older women who have lived colorful lives wear to swim in the cool Tyrrhenian Sea.

During the handful of blissful weather days we had in New York, I wore the outfit on the left every single day. After several miserable months of winter, I will seize any opportunity for some healthy ankle and wrist exposure. The Pepto Bismol pink pumps are a thrifted pair by Maryam Nassir Zadeh. Jacket is my husband’s which he was forced to buy after spending three days shivering in London without any form of outerwear last September. After loading up on scones and clotted cream at Maison Bertaux, we entered the Sunspel store down the street, and I convinced my husband that he (therefore I) needed it. On the right I have chosen to make lemonade with the barrage of rain we’ve been having in a secondhand navy raincoat by Kassl and dark chocolate Dries Van Noten boots.

For the day I can emerge from my home without a jacket, a Dries Van Noten top from Spring 2015 found on eBay, and a silk ruffle Dries scarf. After watching superbly dressed women of all ages stride around Milan in their Marni Fussbett sandals, I needed my own pair to buoy me through the streets and subways of New York. And until the sweet release of the arrival of high spring, a thrifted Max Mara jacket and burgundy velvet Miu Miu mary-janes.

Here we have another round of expectation versus reality. The second we hit the low 70s, you’ll be seeing a lot of my forearms and shins. I was eyeing this dress from Dries Van Noten’s Fall 2017 collection (his hundredth show for which he mixed and remixed prints conceived early in his career with present day) on the Real Real for a while, unsure of whether the cut and length of the sleeves was right for me. I’m happy to share that I have no regrets. There’s something very high school art teacher meets a woman on the verge about it that I’m quite fond of, and it really takes that form with the help of the Marni necklace I bought forever ago on Yoox. The clown-chic shoes are from Prada’s Fall 1998 collection. The organza ‘Fleuriste’ embroidered bag, which featured in Undercover’s dreamy Fall 2024 show, is by the French-Japanese duo Brigitte Tanaka. The basket has a precious little flap perfect for accommodating a stem or two of spring blooms.

I’d been coveting the electric blue Saks Potts leather coat since it was first released some three years ago, and the stars aligned when I finally found it heavily marked-down on Ssense a few months ago. The coat on the right is from the same collection as the dress; for how busy both are, they work together in perfect harmony, but that is the magic and foresight of Dries. Tangelo bag/arm rest is by Sunnei via Poshmark, and is the second weirdest-coolest-spacious bag I own (the first is the yellow Dries!).

And lastly, a Ramadan special outfit, a halal delight for my mother’s eyes as well as a visceral feast for myself. Everybody wins! Up above we have a Dries Van Noten top also from Spring 2015 and a kantha patchwork stole by mother bought for me during her last trip to Dhaka. Down below we have Loewe balloon trousers that carry me through the best and worst days, and ancient Miu Miu mules that look a bit like something an uncle might wear to the masjid.

Until next time!