DALLAS, May 5, 2007/ FW/ --- After his groundbreaking Spring / Summer 2007 collection, Dries Van Noten touched on the global village viewpoint for Fall 2007 by incorporating traditional costumes to highly developed urban dressing that he himself was a spearhead in its evolution.

With emphasis on cut and tailoring, Van Noten proposed smock coats for outerwear, which was suggested either as a collarless all black ensemble or in gray & white print with a standing collar.

Quilted blousons, down-filled nylon jackets, chino-inspired quilted coats and bombers with mutton sleeves round up the outerwear selection.

If outerwear was largely based on utilitarian function and tapped lightly on ethnicity, it was on the daywear and eveningwear that multi-cultural references were widely seen.

The black & white dress with stylized paisley print was an interpretation of the Polynesian pareo that always ends in knot. The Capri pants paired with double layer blouse in light brown and beige was inspired by the Indian costume; and of course, the sarong skirts are Asian in origin. There were even references to post Cultural Revolution China in the multi-pocketed shirt teamed up with a sarong.

Some fashion grouse might say that this had been done before. What make Van Noten’s work stand out is the sportive vision and his borderline minimalist approach. Very little adornments were used, except for the strategically placed beading on the eveningwear.

The construction is urban, and the ethnical references are very subtle in their execution. And, that is the reason why Van Noten’s vision of ‘global village’ dressing is a cut above the rest.

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten