Recently I found myself in front of a more business-side-of-fashion type of people, trying to explain to them why passion, care and true love for fashion and the craft were just as much or even more important for fashion students than the technicalities and the industry part of it all. While speaking my words out loud to faces who didn't seem to quite get what I was trying to convey, I felt a sort of disconnection with my own words. Do I sound completely insane? Is there a space for silly sentimentalism in today's world? Does it make sense that the youth care about how much you love the structure of a certain tailored jacket when there's no money to even make two of the same kind? What I saw and what we all saw yesterday at Julian Klausner's debut menswear show for Dries Van Noten was the confirmation that yes, there's space for pure love for the garments without any pretension, that the result can only be greatness and the reassurance that I haven't lost my mind yet, at least not completely.
There are as many love languages as there are people in the world. Each of us, in our individuality, have our preferences in the ways we express how much we care for something, whether it's a significant other, our job, a hobby we have or just anything that makes part of our life. For Dries Van Noten, colour has been a medium he has always used to write in the garments many love letters to them, and there's no one that has managed to speak his language with the same expertise and eloquence as him, not until now. When the student shows signs of being on the same path to perfection as their professors, the praise goes to both parts: the one that was willing to learn and the one that was willing to teach.
It is evident in every fabric, in every pattern, in every piece and in every combination of garments that Julian and Dries have always communicated using the same language, and this collection is the first (second if we count womenswear) chapter written of a new book. "I had in mind the Dries Van Noten wardrobe that I always loved," says Klausner in the show notes, and it's in that word where we find the key to what we saw on the packed but never overwhelming runway. Love. It's not an attempt to replicate the house codes or to bring back references from years ago; it's a creator that loves the universe he's working for, that has learnt and lived in it for years, and that wants everyone to love it and live in it just as much.
Here's when the importance of creators thinking firstly as consumers and clients is manifested. What have I always loved about this brand? What would I wear every day if I had the chance? What would make me turn my head if I saw someone else wear it? The answer for Julian was satisfying striped colour combinations, embroidered and patterned fabrics paired with either simple greys or timeless camels, or seashells and trinkets as memories on a necklace; and it turns out we have exactly the same opinion. What is formal? What is causal? Formal is a slightly oversized black tuxedo jacket with a bowtie-less white shirt, and casual is a colourful sarong hanging relaxed at the waist. The combination of these two, formal and casual, that's just Dries Van Noten for you.
There can be lots of sentiments, but if the savoir-faire, the technicalities and the precision are not there, the message won't be conveyed successfully. It's like writing a love letter with awful orthography. Immediate pass. But here we are in front of the Oxford English Dictionary of fashion, apparently, where every dart is in the right place, every layer falls precisely above the other, and every tight, very tight piece hugs the body, tracing only what it intends to.
Returning to my initial point, rather than using many words to try and explain what the love for fashion can result in, I would rather show this collection and let the show speak for itself. When Dries left, there was a slight hesitancy about who would be able to portray and convey the same freedom, the same sensibility and the same singularity of his creations, but any shade of doubt is now completely gone. Through this new wardrobe, Julian Klausner is gifting to us, where, as written in the show notes, we can see and feel the emotions of "a man in love, on a stroll at the beach at dawn, after a party", we get the confirmation that we are in for a treat that we hope lasts long and that there's still someone willing to speak from the heart.
