PARIS, Jan 31, 2003/ -- It was like a sports day at an English boarding school. Not only had invites for the Dries van Noten show come in the form of a block of Folkestone rock – a popular British seaside treat – but upon arrival at the Racing Club de Paris, hungry guests were treated to sandwiches wickedly filled with chocolate, jam or spreadable cheese.

And in two sport halls, where the pre-show entertainment consisted of teenagers going through their judo and fencing paces, the Belgian designer lined up his models in front of a wall of trophies and cups and one by one they were called by name to receive their medals. Or in this case to do their modeling stint.

For fall 2003 Van Noten took his Sixth Formers from the sports field on a countryside camping trip with a diversion to the battlefield for good measure. Instead of pillaging current military garb the designed visit the no less bloody but much more beautiful tailored era of Napoleon Bonaparte, when cut-away frock coats or long coats with antique gilt buttons entered the mix and Brandenburgs trimmed a waistcoat. Jackets perfect for the cricket pitch abounded. Cut close and double-breasted, they came in blue or black edged with cream or striped in green, yellow or blue.

Stripes found their way onto trousers, which were often worryingly cropped and bright blue, or onto a bow tie hanging jauntily open over a green striped shirt and wide black pants. To keep warm on a cold day after a warm-down Van Noten’s signature chunky knits were great as oversized sweaters or trailing scarves.

When it came to the great outdoors, Van Noten’s boys had all they could carry crammed into their large leather backpacks. Or for shorter journeys that might only require the wearing of Chelsea boots with suede gaiters provisions were stored in canvas bags slung around the hips.

Van Noten’s unique take on sportswear is layering strong pieces in an eclectic but wearable way. While great double-breasted coats in extra strong colors like orange, electric blue and green will make a man conspicuous in the street, when he’s lost in the mountains with a rowdy pack of sporty school boys such an item may be more valuable for survival and air rescue than a boring nylon jacket he could have got elsewhere.

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten