Paris – Dries Van Noten took inspiration from ancient Chinese, Korean and Japanese costumes for its autumn/winter 2012/2013 collection at Paris Fashion Week. The designer used archive pieces from the costume collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum to create prints, adding a contemporary edge to the historic motifs by arranging them in repeats, or applying them to fabric cutout sections on silk, crepe and matelassé.
The Asian theme was continued in the silhouettes of the pieces, which included belted wrap-over Samurai-inspired jackets worn with wide-leg trousers, regal dragon-emblazoned belted frock coats with trousers, and printed silk jackets worn over slouchy pyjama trousers. Make-up – colour block orange eyeshadow – also referenced traditional Asian make-up imagery.
Dries Van Noten is one of many labels referencing Asian culture this season, perhaps a reflection of the growing commercial significance of the Asian – notably Chinese – consumer in luxury fashion.