Tag Archives: Dries Van Noten

MARTIN MARGIELA — IN HIS OWN WORDS

There are different needs in the fashion world and I’m not sure I can feed them… I don’t like the idea of being a celebrity; anonymity is very important to me… I pushed myself constantly to extremes. I always wanted to have my name linked to the product I created, not to the face I have. — Martin Margiela*

Martin Margiela began his career as an assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier and was the creative director at Hermès from 1997 to 2003. He and business partner Jenny Meirens opened Maison Martin Margiela in 1989, and for the next twenty years—through 41 collections—revolutionized fashion.

Margiela left the fashion world in 2008. Ten year later, Reiner Holzemer—director of an acclaimed 2017 documentary about Dries Van Noten—persuaded the designer to commit, on audiotape, a reflection of his archive and legacy. The resulting film—MARTIN MARGIELA—IN HIS OWN WORDS, featuring on camera interviews with Gaultier, Cathy Horyn, Olivier Saillard, Carine Roitfeld and others—premiered last year at Doc NYC and is available for streaming now.

See link below for details.

MARTIN MARGIELA—IN HIS OWN WORDS*

Written, directed, and co-produced by Reiner Holzemer.

Soundtrack by Deus.

Above and below, from top: Reiner Holzemer, Martin Margiela—In His Own Words (2019), film stills (9), courtesy and © Maison Martin Margiela, Paris, the filmmaker and Dogwoof Sales. Bottom: Maison Martin Margiela label, courtesy and © Maison Martin Margiela.

DRIES VAN NOTEN — SPRING 2019

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During an Indian summer afternoon in Paris that carried a fresh, crisp undercurrent, Dries Van Noten presented his summer 2019 collection in a splash of natural light under the grand canopy of Palais de Tokyo.

Optic white silhouettes of ladybirds with real feather hairdos revealed a gangling waist heighten by a squarish padded shoulder—yet the whole hangs together with relaxed looseness. Diagonal graphic stripes and photographic patterns and rays of bright neon colors completed a tableau which carried a minimal approach to formal design with a play of structured drapes and cuts.

There is also a palpable tension with the use of materials that combine foregrounded compositions of plastic and paper, silk with hand-made pieces of embroidery, and original paintings on garments. This full and honest confusion of feelings was accompanied by the heartbeats of the remix “Moan” by the Danish electronic multi-instrumentalist Trentemøller.

Van Noten’s next realm manages to render beauty and sophisticated finesse with reminiscences of post-futuristic broken romanticism, a place where nature and machine would finally find grace and gravity in chaos and harmony.

DRIES

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“ ‘Fashion’ is such an empty word.” — Dries Van Noten

As is stated by curator Geert Bruloot at the onset of DRIES—the Dries Van Noten documentary directed by Reiner Holzemer—this original member of the Antwerp Six remains an “artisanal designer,” bringing emotion and passion to a field overrun with indistinct “product.”

Van Noten is always looking, eyes wide open to a variety of influences, and a believer in the art of coincidences. Amid the beautiful, flowering brocades, Van Noten introduces what he calls “bad taste,” or “things that hurt the eye.”

“I need contrasts, I need tensions. I need a kind of clash in the collections.” — Van Noten

The film features Van Noten explicating several key runway shows, as well as a look into the visually rich home life Van Noten shares with his longtime partner Patrick Vangheluwe, both of them happily possessed by their possessions.

Also seen and heard from in the film: Iris Apfel, Pamela Golbin, Suzy Menkes, and Jane Birkin.

DRIES, Netflix.

netflix.com/title

See: hero-magazine.com/dries-van-noten-documentary

Top: Dries Van Noten watching an exit.

Above: Ringenhof, the estate of Van Noten and Patrick Vangheluwe in Lier, Belgium.

Below: Van Noten (second from left) and his fellow Antwerp Six.

BEST OF 2014: PARIS’S TOP 10

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Los Angeles was the capitol of the culture in 2014 but Paris remains one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Old cafés, beautiful historical places, amazing stores, nice walks…

Here are ten of my favorite events and places of the year:

1. Church of Saint Sulpice

On the right inside the entrance, there is the Chapel of the Angels with two beautiful frescoes made by Eugène Delacroix: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel and Heliodorus driven from the temple.
2 rue Palatine – 75006 Paris

2. The Deyrolle Store

Deyrolle is a taxidermy shop that has been open for 185 years.
46 rue du Bac – 75007 Paris

3. Inspirations, Dries Van Noten at Musée des Arts Décoratifs

4. Clément Rodzielski at Chantal Crousel
Fraises Noires was the third exhibition of Clément Rodzielski at Chantal Crousel Gallery.
10 rue de Charlot – 75003 Paris

Clément Rodzielski, Untitled, 2014, Print on adhesive paper, dust, cardboard, acrylic paint 48 x 37.50 cm | 18″ 7/8 x 14″ 6/8

5. Chez Nenesse

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Paris. You feel like you are in the countryside in the middle of Le Marais, and the food is excellent.
17 rue de Saintonge – 75003 Paris

6. Hoses

Hoses is a shop dedicated to women’s shoes and accessories. The selection is always perfect.
41 Rue de Poitou, 75003 Paris

7. Robert Mallet-Stevens

Take a walk on the Mallet- Stevens Street in the 14th arrondissement to have a look on these beautiful houses.

8. Decorum: Carpets and tapestries by artists at Musée d’Art Moderne

This exhibition featured a hundred rugs and tapestries created by modern (Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso) as well as contemporary artists (Dewar & Gicquel, Vidya Gastaldon). The London based artist Marc Camille Chaimowics designed the exhibition in collaboration with architect Christine Ilex Beinemeier. A beautiful show!

9. Le Champollion

Opened in 1938, Le Champollion is a movie theater well known for its excellent selection of old movies.
51 rue des Ecoles – 75005 Paris

10. Richelieu’s Library

Located 2 rue Vivienne – 75002 Paris- this library is dedicated to all the people who wants to do some research in Art History. I spent more than 3 years there and I am always surprised by the beauty of this space.

WEEKLY WRAP UP | AUGUST 4 – 8, 2014

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Postcard: Desert Botanical Gardens, Papago Park, Phoenix, Arizona.

This week on the blog we announced Richard Prince’s new book Bibliothèque d’un amateur. Richard Prince’s Publications 1981-2014, and a performance in Los Angeles by Stefan Tcherepnin & Tobias Madison – SHADOW TRENCHES. We took a walk through Martine Syms’ exhibition The Queens English at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts, David Horvitz’s and Pia Camil’s exhibitions at Blum & Poe in L.A., and the Dries Van Noten exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. We also gave a little review of Richard Linklater’s new film Boyhood.

Check out our posts!

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Tag Archives: Dries Van Noten

MARTIN MARGIELA — IN HIS OWN WORDS

DRIES VAN NOTEN — SPRING 2019

DRIES

BEST OF 2014: PARIS’S TOP 10

WEEKLY WRAP UP | AUGUST 4 – 8, 2014