Dries van Noten Quotes

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Dries van Noten

Profession : Designer

Birth : May 12, 1958

People get this very romantic vision of a fashion designer who in one night makes 25 sketches and in the morning throws them on the table and there are a lot of women in white aprons with the pins on the lapel and they start to grab the sketches and... It's not like that.

Dries van Noten

Change is not always bad. Change can be good.

Dries van Noten

I think in the same way when I'm cooking, when I'm gardening, when I'm choosing fabrics. It's a way of living.

Dries van Noten

For breakfast, I usually have a slice of bread with some homemade jam made from fruit from the garden; the type of jam depends on what particular fruit is being harvested. I learned how to make it from my mother.

Dries van Noten

All my collections are very personal. It's also because I'm so involved in making the collections.

Dries van Noten

I don't design for myself. I design something keeping in mind that it has to please a lot of women.

Dries van Noten

My morning routine varies by how much time I have. In the winter, I like to take baths, but in the summer, I prefer a good shower with some soap and then maybe some moisturizer afterward. I use D.R. Harris and Geo. F. Trumper products, which we also stock at our shops in Paris and Antwerp.

Dries van Noten

The word 'fashion' I don't like because fashion is something that's over in six months. I'd like to find a word that's more timeless.

Dries van Noten

Coincidence is important, the convergence of different ideas.

Dries van Noten

I prefer a scruffy atmosphere.

Dries van Noten

Fashion shows are really my way of communication.

Dries van Noten

I prefer ugly things. I prefer things which are surprising.

Dries van Noten

You'd think after 100 shows you'd be used to this, but it's not true for me. It always feels like the first show.

Dries van Noten

I try to be as independent as possible.

Dries van Noten

I collect objects I fall in love with more than antiques per se. Value is not a criteria that attracts me to something.

Dries van Noten

I like it when you have something happening by coincidence. Just something in a book is enough. But I prefer a fragment of an image so you are far more free to bring in elements of your own.

Dries van Noten

I have nothing against glamorous dressing.

Dries van Noten

Various different people have inspired me throughout my career. From Francis Bacon to Vassareli, Coco Chanel to Christian Dior, Cecil Beaton, musicians, architects... the list is endless.

Dries van Noten

When we were studying at the Royal Antwerp Academy, we were taught to seek inspiration from everyone, everything and everywhere. My parents and grandparents were also a great inspiration for me a very young age.

Dries van Noten

I think by my father owning a store, I was definitely aware of the commercial aspect of selling clothes. His shop was a place I enjoyed spending time in as a boy, so I learned things almost by osmosis at times, by literally just being around all the action and not really despite myself.

Dries van Noten