Questions about the Antwerp master of print and colour and his successor Julian Klausner, answered from Ayerhs’s Dries Van Noten reviews.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 31 October 2026
On this page: The designer · After Dries · The collections · The Ayerhs view
The designer
Who is Dries Van Noten?
A Belgian designer, born in Antwerp in 1958 into a family of tailors and clothing retailers. He graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts and was one of the “Antwerp Six” who took their work to London in 1986. He became famous for rich prints, unexpected colour combinations and embroidery, and for never advertising.
Who owns Dries Van Noten?
The Spanish beauty and fashion group Puig, majority owner since 2018.
After Dries
Did Dries Van Noten retire?
Yes. He announced in 2024 that he would step back, and showed his final collection, Spring 2025 menswear, in June 2024.
Who designs Dries Van Noten now?
Julian Klausner, who had worked in the design studio for years, was named creative director in December 2024. Ayerhs called his Spring 2026 a masterclass in vibrancy and joyful dressing, and his Fall 2026 a vision of youth, identity and opulent texture.
Read on Ayerhs: Fall 2025: A legacy honoured · Spring 2026 · Fall 2026
The collections
Which Dries Van Noten collections should you know?
| Season | The idea | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2005 | Night-time golden hour | Review |
| Fall 2015 | Oriental bohemia | Review |
| Fall 2016 | Dark excess | Review |
| Spring 2019 | A minimalist fantasy | Review |
| Fall 2019 | Roses in the dark | Review |
| Spring 2020 | Co-designed with Christian Lacroix | 80s Couture Modernised |
| Spring 2021 | Sunny psychedelia | Review |
| Spring 2025 | Paris Fashion Week | Review |
What was the Dries Van Noten and Christian Lacroix collection?
For Spring 2020, Dries invited the couturier Christian Lacroix to co-design a collection, mixing Lacroix’s 80s couture flamboyance with Dries’s prints. It was one of the most talked-about shows of the season.
The Ayerhs view
Why does Dries Van Noten matter?
Because he built a global house on clothes alone, with no advertising and no logo, and made colour and print feel intellectual. Klausner’s early collections suggest that spirit can outlive its founder.