DRIES VAN NOTEN INSPIRATIONS

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1 Press RELEASE > les arts décoratifs 1. Dries Van Noten, Autumn/Winter show 2006, Mathieu Ridelle March 1 st to August 31 st 2014 DRIES VAN NOTEN INSPIRATIONS PRESS CONTACTS Marie-Laure MOREAU Isabelle MENDOZA Barneys New York, US-based luxury retailer, will serve as a sponsor for the exhibition along with Bonaveri PHONE. : FAX : [email protected]

2 From March 1 st to August 31 st 2014, the work of the Belgian fashion designer, Dries Van Noten, is featured at the musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. This is the very first exhibition devoted to the artist s work. As Dries Van Noten takes us on an intimate journey into his artistic universe, he reveals the singularity of his creative process which he illustrates with his various and numerous sources of inspiration. This event is an eye opening experience, where Dries Van Noten s men s and women s collections are put together with iconic pieces from the museum s fashion and textile collection. The show also includes photographs and videos, film clips, musical references, as well as artworks by renowned artists, from public and private collections, that have triggered the designer s imagination throughout his life and career. Initiated into the world of textiles by his parents who were both cloth retailers, Dries Van Noten studied fashion design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he gratuated in In 1986, while he was supported by Christine Mathys and Patrick Vangheluwe, he created his own independent brand and showed his first men s collection in London the same year with the informal group of young avant-garde Belgian designers known as the Antwerp Six, that included Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee. Dries Van Noten developped his aesthetic vocabulary by combining fashion design with visual arts from different periods, and by referring to foreign cultures as well as to memories of intimate experiences. Dries Van Noten s collections reflect his fantasies and dreams of exotic places stemming from his imagination, while also drawing upon the ethnic and folk traditions of India, China, Africa and Mexico. These ideas contribute to his choices of refined weaves and fabrics that constitute the printed patterns used in his productions of the 2010 Women s Spring-Summer Collection and the 2014 Spring-Summer Collection. His works are also directly influenced by masterpieces from the field of art history. In effect, the entire 2009 Women s Autumn-Winter collection stems from paintings by Francis Bacon, whereas the Men s Spring-Summer Collection of that same year is based on a single picture by Elizabeth Peyton, Democrats are More Beautiful (2001). Dries Van Noten s creative references can also be subtle and therefore more intimate and suggestive. 2. Dries Van Noten, 50 th show, Spring/Summer 2005 Marleen Daniels 3. Bar suit, silk taffetas, Christian Dior, 1947 Collection UFAC, Les Arts Décoratifs, Jean Tholance 4. Dries Van Noten, Autumn/Winter show 2009 Rights reserved

3 5. Dries Van Noten, Autumn/Winter show 2008 Rights reserved 6. Long silk dress, Callot Sœurs, circa 1927 Collection UFAC, Les Arts Décoratifs, Jean Tholance In effect, a colour in particular may inspire him, as well as emotions and atmospheres : the chromatic power of the red used in Mark Rothko s painting, the particularity of the blue light reflected in a grotto in Capri, or the fragility evoked by a butterfly, can be relevant starting points for a collection. In other words, Dries Van Noten s sources of inspiration transcend the hierarchy of the arts, as vernacular culture is for him just as rich in influences. His designs rest upon these contrasts, as duality is another constant hallmark of his stylistic vocabulary. He often uses what defines the differences between genders to tackle the limits of dress codes : men s garments are made with fabrics regarded as feminine such as lace, while masculine cuts are used in the women s collections. The refinement that the couturier brings to each of his works culminates in his fashion shows, several of which have been among the most memorable in recent decades. Dries Van Noten chooses uncommon locations but ones always related to the theme of the collection, such as Passage Brady in the Indian quarter of Paris 10th arrondissement, for the 1994 Men s Spring-Summer Collection. More recently, in 2008, the fountain by Pol Bury in the Palais Royal provided the backdrop for the 2009 Women s Spring- Summer show, and the 50th show in September 2004 was staged around a gigantic banquet. For this exhibition, Dries Van Noten has brought together elements which point to other sources of inspiration, such as the Renaissance chambers of wonder or curiosity cabinets in which collectors amassed memorabilia and souvenirs. Each piece is exposed with various items that seem hard to grasp at first sight but become progressively legible as a reflection of his creative process. His choice to organize his work in a particular way, results from a skilful montage in the museum space. By associating the pieces with shared similarities, he illustrates the main themes and characteristics of his production from the early 1980s. The exhibition brings together all the artistic fields with an assemblage of historical, pictorial, ethnic, cinematic, musical and geographic references. While stressing the influences, the analogies and the contradictions in Dries Van Noten s work, the show combines fashion design with the world of decorative and fine arts, in order to illustrate the Belgian creator s distinctive techniques and stylistic vocabulary. 7. Dries Van Noten, Spring/Summer show 2014 Tommy Tom

4 Dries Van Noten has selected anonymous 19 th century pieces and works by emblematic couturiers such as Elsa Schiaparelli and Christian Dior and 1980s designers, to evoke intimate subject matters such as youth, the archetype, ambiguity and passion, while highlighting his signature themes. Thanks to exceptional loans, masterpieces by important artists such as Bronzino, Kees Van Dongen, Yves Klein, Victor Vasarely, Francis Bacon, Elizabeth Peyton and Damien Hirst are on display in each section of the show. Major films, including Stanley Kubrick s Clockwork Orange and Jane Campion s The Piano, are also part of the event. The exhibition is the result of Dries Van Noten s close collaboration with the Arts Décoratifs Museum, which has prompted him to use several 19 th century textile patterns in his 2014 men s and women s Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collections that he unveiled in Paris in June and September Detail of a dress, Cortina, circa Dries Van Noten, Spring/Summer show 2009 Patrice Stable 10. Embroidered leather jacket, Yves Saint Laurent, Textile detail, embroidered satin, circa Dries Van Noten, Spring/Summer show 2014 Tommy Tom 13. Dries Van Noten, Autumn/Winter show 2006 Olaf Wipperfurth

5 renseignements key information pratiques Curator : > Pamela Golbin, general curator of Contemporary Fashion and Textiles, Les Arts Décoratifs Exhibition design : > Jean-Dominique SECONDI, ARTER Publication : > Dries Van Noten French edition : Les Arts Décoratifs ; English and Dutch editions : LANNOO 320 pages, 600 illustrations, 59 les arts décoratifs educational and cultural services les amis Bruno ROGER, Chairman Marie-Liesse Baudrez, General director Olivier GABET, Museums director Pascale de SEzE, Communication director the museums The Arts Décoratifs museums > phone Metro stations : Palais-Royal, Pyramides, Tuileries Open Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 6pm (Late opening Thursday until 9pm : Temporary exhibitions and jewellery gallery only) admission > full rate : 9 > reduced rate : 7.50 Musée Nissim de Camondo 63 rue de Monceau, Paris > phone Open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5.30pm Closed Monday and Tuesday admission > full rate : 7 > reduced rate : 5 The Educational and Cultural Department organises museum tours for adults, groups and individuals > reservations thematic workshop-tours and guided tours related to an exhibition for 4 to 18 year-olds > reservations lectures and panel discussions > reservations library The Arts Décoratifs Library > phone Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 6pm école camondo 266 boulevard Raspail, Paris > phone ateliers du carrousel 266 boulevard Raspail, Paris 63 rue de Monceau, Paris > phone partners club The Partners Club brings together firms wishing to participate in promoting Les Arts Décoratifs, developing a lasting relationship with our institution and broadening their network of contacts. It acts as a laboratory for ideas and interaction between economic and cultural actors and creators. Members at three different levels benefit from the advantages of patrons and sponsors. > phone Les Amis des Arts Décoratifs promote the Arts Décoratifs museums and library in France and abroad. Their support contributes to the enrichment and restoration of the museum s collections. Members have free admission to the Arts Décoratifs museums and can participate in private visits, thematic days and cultural tours. > phone the museum boutique 107RIVOLI art mode design paris > phone Open 10am to 7pm Closed Monday le the restaurant Le Saut du Loup restaurant - bar terrace or access via the Carrousel Gardens > phone website