DRIES VAN NOTEN - Musée Les Arts Décoratifs Paris

                   

http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

I went to the exhibition of Dries Van Noten - Inspirations - at le Musée Art Décoratif de Paris, the one next to the Louvre and which you can discover the very trendy restaurant Le Saut du Loup.

Usually we always visit the Musée du Louvre the most famous museum in the world and we completely forget that there is another building as much interesting as the Louvre : Musée Art Décoratif.

So now who is Dries Van Noten ? 

A belgian fashion designer and one of the Antwerp Six. In fact the Antwerp Six is an influential fashion group. They are six avant-garde designers in the 80's who graduated from the Antwerp Royal's Academy of Fine Arts : Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs, Marina Yee and Dries Van Noten.

Antwerp Six - Philippe Costes/WWD Archive 

           

Dries Van Noten - Published in mono.kultur/ Berlin

                 

                                                                            

When you enter to this exhibition you are impresses by the decor, by the fact that you are visiting this exhibition quite in the dark. And the more you discover this exhibition the more you see the light coming to you as if there is some light at the end of the tunnel. There are two levels connected by a space where you can watch simultaneously two slow motion images.

Even though the designer doesn't agree with the word retrospective but more with inspiration I can say that during this exhibition you discover a retrospective themes and inspiration that Dries Van Noten used to create his different collections. 

For DriesVan Noten " The starting point of a collection can be either very literal or abstract, a painting, a certain colour, a thought, a gesture, a smell, a flower, anything really. What matters to me is the journey from that first flash of inspiration to the final destination, the individual garments, the collection."

I took some pictures of collections that I liked. In the exhibition you will always see the name of the collection with a description, the clothes and inspirations. A very good way to understand how the designer finally draws his garments and where he could get details inspirations on his clothes. How he associates art inspiration and clothes. As he said from where he could get a clash, a tension and mixed up all together. 

So here some collections I liked while visiting this incredible exhibition that I lovely recommend you. 

BUTTERFLIES
"The vivid colour and weightlessness of butterflies and kites." A discordant merger of violent passion and wonder constantly oscillating between beauty an cruelty evokes the ephemeral nature of youth. The disturbingly potent appeal of a butterfly - as well as its fleeting existence - hint at the ambiguous allure of adolescence.
For a brief yet powerful moment on the cusp of adulthood, strength and fragility, freedom and rebellion co-exist.

                                           

 

GRAPHIC
" The transformation of the two-dimensional into the three-dimensional optical illusion."
The work of Victor Vasarely, Pol Bury and Mark Rothko play with form and visual rapture, their combined presence creating a powerful graphic presence. A reduced palette of black and white, a few splashes of pure colour and geometric rigour encounter the nonchalance of the 1960's Parisian look and the sensuality of a Serge Gainsbourg song.

THE GARDEN - SUMMER FLOWER
" Serenity and joy."
Elaborate details from traditional costumes and saturated hues overlap in a fanciful world where naturalism and abstraction coexist. From unexpected juxtapositions emerge mosaics of flowers, colours and textures, pro ducting unusually graceful results. Luxuriant foliage an gleaming metal, precious materials and outsize decoration intertwine, shaped by the play of patterns and drapery.

What stands out for me from this exhibtion is that art and fashion are somehow linked. And that there is a little something in you that become your inspiration your starting point of a collection project. 

And finally you can listen to the very interesting Dries Van Noten interview : 

www.driesvannoten.be

All pictures are ©rachafarah.blogspot.fr