Paris in the Fall

Dries Van Noten Fall 2011 (photos from Style.com)
The fall fashion shows recently ended in Paris and I thought that Dries Van Noten presented a great collection. You know I'm a big fan of the Belgian designer, as I've written about him here, here, and here. It was a particularly turbulent season in Paris with the terrible crash and burn of the wildly talented John Galliano who was fired at Dior after being videotaped making shocking anti-semitic remarks in a bar in the Marais, which was historically the Jewish working class of neighborhood of Paris and where Galliano lives. And at the end of the Balmain show, designer Christophe Decarnin, who I have admired here on the blog before, failed to appear. It's said that he was in a hospital having suffered a breakdown. An issue perhaps was the fact that Emmanuelle Alt, who had been his chief stylist and muse for his sexy swaggering looks, was not able to work with Decarnin on this collection as she had been promoted to editor in chief of French Vogue after Carine Roitfeld quit.

In the drama, Dries Van Noten presented a striking collection that looks so chic and wearable. He said in his show notes that he was inspired in part by the style of the Ballets Russes. The result is a creative collage of fabrics which flow together like brush strokes of paint on a canvas. Streaks, swirls and color blocks of cloth make up these artistic compositions.

His use of fabric is asymmetrical so you can see the designer's eye at work, a dash of black and white here, a slash of red and white there.

On the dress below a swath of blue cuts across earthy tones like a wave on a sandy beach.

Below is a close-up detail of the dress at the top of this post. A bright blue field is surrounded by a clash of abstract prints.

This dress has wide kimono sleeves and a line of blue down one side which defines the curve of the body.

In this close-up, the big, slouchy bag doesn't match exactly but still looks perfect. This is an easy elegance.

Here is the long evening version – the same simple t-shirt shape, the collage of pattern, the asymmetrical mix, and a deep leg slit added. It's such a relaxed way to be dressed for evening and also super-chic.

The golden front glimmers against the contrasting patterns in a happy ode to textiles.

And here is Dries at the end of his show.

Beautiful, no?