Dries Van Noten Fall 2025: Julian Klausner Brought the Brand to the Next Gen in Opulent Style
It was an auspicious place to make a debut, Paris’ Opera Garnier, but the collection lived up to its theatrical setting.
“In the beginning, I thought, wow, it’s kind of a lot as a first impression,” new Dries Van Noten creative director Julian Klausner said during a preview of staging his first Dries Van Noten women’s runway collection. “And then I thought it’s a place I’ve always loved. When I lived in Paris, I used to regularly go.…I love the stage. I love ballet…and I really grew into it. And I started thinking about the opera on a day where it’s closed or after the show, and it became not really about the stage, not about the main room, but rather about the stories the walls could tell.”
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Taking center stage from Van Noten after he retired last year, Klausner reached back to first memories of falling in love with fashion, playing in the costume box as a child. “So putting a tie on, and how that makes you feel, or putting on a heavy coat or a tight belt.…This very tactile and very instinctive approach to fashion,” he said.
That instinctive approach is at the heart of the Puig-owned house, where Klausner worked under Van Noten for six years. And many aspects of the legacy the Belgian designer built since 1986 were front and center on the runway for fall 2025, including rich colors, fabrics and unexpected embellishments, the spirit of intimacy and spontaneity in dressing, “sprinkles of another time” as Klausner called the references to historicism, and divadom — but with a freer hand and bodily sensuality.
The show started by reestablishing strong tailoring and louche bohemianism as brand calling cards with the opening look of a black heavy wool masculine-inspired coat whipstitched at the lapels with white shoelaces, followed up right after by a gorgeous, draped devoré velvet deshabille dress.
Tailoring was a through line in rich russet orange, ultraviolet purple and other powerful hues, as well as classic black, as on a great looking cape coat with shoelace stitching that looked like a must-have; rounded cocoon-shaped jackets, and blazers cinched with wide leather belts, or cut with higher slits inviting the wearer to turn up the cuffs revealing the lining inside. Equally important, though, were feminine skirts, from a heavy wool dirndl style with foldover waist band, to sarong shapes.
A key to Van Noten’s success has always been that a woman can find fashion with a capital F, but also a great pair of trousers. This season, Klausner zeroed in on sharp legs with stirrup pants or skinny pants with covered buttons undone over the ankles, both of which let the volumes and movement on top shine.
Body-skimming blouses and dresses floated seductively around the body, some in men’s tie silks with pointed tails trailing, others in solid color silks anchored by undulating trapunto stitch edges. “What was important for me in the flou story was to keep a very spontaneous feeling to the drape, like you’ve taken something and kind of gathered it together around the body,” Klausner said.
Knitwear had a slouch inspired by dancers’ rehearsal wear, as on an oversize pink mohair sweater that slid off the shoulder suggestively, a speckled chenille cardigan, or a snood thrown over the head with scarfy tails to play with. “Dries often had these small accessory pieces picking up on key elements of the collection and I always thought there was something quite generous in that; it allows someone to buy a smaller piece and get a feeling to incorporate into the wardrobe,” said Klausner, pointing also during the preview to several embroidered short wrap skirts that could be layered over pants, jeans, anything.
Exotic, decorative elements like those ran throughout, including arabesque-inspired embroidery, burnout floral velvets, magic carpet jacquards, decadent curtain tassel trims and spontaneous crystal embroidery like jewelry spilled on the front of a straight skirt. There were a lot of embroidered pants, sequin sets and beaded mesh, all things Dries lovers crave. And judging from the loud applause when Klausner took his bow, they were pleased.
Van Noten himself was there, looking relaxed despite working “more than ever” in his supposed retirement, he said, also praising Klausner and the team’s work on the collection. While Van Noten wasn’t too much of a public presence in recent years, Klausner sees it as a responsibility, at least in the beginning, and soon he’ll have even more DVN stores globally to visit.
“As a person he was certainly discreet…but customers felt that Dries was speaking to them.…So I do feel I need to introduce myself. It’s such a special thing to have customers coming year after year and I do feel like I need to let them get to know me a little a bit if I want to pick up on that story.”
Launch Gallery: Dries Van Noten Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection
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