Dries Van Noten Fall 2009
Dries Van Noten Fall 2009

PARIS, Mar 11, 2009 / FW/ — Seeing a colorful collection at Dries Van Noten was truly a sight for sore eyes after enduring black on black the whole week. That the designer chose dull sorbet shades instead of the vibrant colors of fall was beside the point. The real point is that in its simplicity, it is one of the most beautiful collections of the season.

From the double-breasted winter coat cinched at the waist by a belt to the jewel-neck blouse in 3/4 sleeves, the Dries Van Noten woman for Fall 2009 is nonchalance about dressing. You can almost hear her say, “Oh, this ‘ole thing I’m wearing?”

Perhaps, that is Dries Van Noten’s message. For a long time, fashionistas have taken themselves very seriously. Fashion should be fun, not a competition on who wears what is being shown on the runway at that moment in time while sitting front row.

This season, even during the middle of the recession and familiar faces are missing, that fierce competition still existed that sometimes it had reached a level of being ridiculous. So, while the catwalks are saying ‘sobriety in dressing’; that sobriety had not reached the competitive fashionistas yet.

Hence, being at Dries Van Noten was refreshing in more ways than one. A low key approach by a high profile designer like Dries Van Noten reminds us that we are here to review the collections, and not to wear them at the same time they are being shown.

[MARI DAVIS]

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