Dries Van Noten for Virginia Woolf

A jacket over a long dress with pockets.

You know I am a huge fan of the Belgian fashion Dries Van Noten – I've written about him here, here, and here. The fall 2012 collection which he just presented in Paris looked just beautiful. He told journalists that he recently researched ancient costumes from China, Japan and Korea at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which is one of my favorite places. He photographed the pieces and was inspired by their prints. What resulted was perfect clothes for 2012 but also designs that remind me a lot of Virginia Woolf and what the Bloomsbury crowd would had worn in the 20's and 30's in England. These clothes are modern and romantic at the same time.
I would love to see a girl wear this to work –

Here a striking coat is worn over a simple black blouse and pants – easy.

A wonderful mix of asymetrical prints -

A mix of proportions – a silky tunic flows over narrow white pants.

This spectacular print reminds me of the glamorous exotic style of the Ballets Russes.

This dress is very Bloomsbury –

A customer could easily buy one of these pieces and mix it into a wardrobe. These clothes would never go out of style because they are above the trends. Dries doesn't follow trends; he does what he wants to do. He's an artist and his medium is clothes. I personally love something like this that transcends time – which evokes the past but is also modern for today. And is such a pleasure for the eye.
(photos from Vogue.com, see the entire collection here)