Born in Antwerp in 1958, Dries Van Noten is the third generation in a family of tailors. Between the two world wars, his grandfather reworked second-hand clothes by turning them inside out and introduced Antwerp to the concept of ready-to-wear. In 1970 Dries’ father opened a large upscale fashion boutique in the outskirts of Antwerp followed by a second outlet in the city centre where he sold collections by Ungaro, Ferragamo and Zegna. At the same time, his mother ran a Cassandre franchised store and collected antique lace and linen.

From his education at a Jesuit school, Dries acquired great moral strength and a very practical outlook on life. His family background ensured that he was introduced to the world of fashion, its rites and traditions from the youngest age. As a young graduate, Dries continued with his freelance work while developing his own first haute couture collection. It was an instant success and was enthusiastically greeted by influential buyers in New York, London and Amsterdam.
In September of the same year, Dries Van Noten opened his first boutique in Antwerp, a tiny 16 m² spot where he sold his men’s and women’s collections, both made from exactly the same fabrics.

In 1989, the boutique moved into an entire building on Nationalstraat, in a district that was far from fashionable at the time. Het Modepaleis (the Palace of Fashion) as it is known, bought from one of his grandfather’s main competitors, is a listed building dating back to 1881. Completely renovated and refurbished in 2002, the boutique is now the figurehead of the Dries Van Note empire.

As his reputation in the fashion world grew, Dries Van Noten decided to open a huge showroom in the Marais district of Paris where he first presented his menswear collection during Ready-to-Wear week. This was followed in 1993 by his women’s collection. This first opening outside Antwerp was quickly followed by another showroom in Milan.

In July 2000, Dries Van Noten moved into the 5,500-square meters of an old dockside museum warehouse in Antwerp that was occupied by the Germans during the war. This six-storey industrial space now houses the showroom, design, marketing, production, accounts and distribution departments and archives to reflect the logical order of a collection. The top floor is thus given over to the showroom which enjoys breathtaking views across the entire city.

January 2007 in Paris, Dries Van Noten opened his second ever shop. For this he set out to preserve the soul and history of this listed 17th century building in the very heart of the city. Number 7, Quai Malaquais is an old bookshop overlooking the Musee du Louvre across the Seine from the left bank, standing between rue Bonaparte and rue de Seine, close to the Académie Française, the Institut, and the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Paris. Number 7 Quai Malaquais was followed in September 2007 by another shop created in collaboration with Club 21 in Singapore.

Dries Van Noten has been entirely self-financed since the beginning of his career and now sells his Men’s, Women’s and Accessories collections all over the world. In addition to his boutiques in Antwerp, Paris, and Hong Kong, Dries Van Noten works in partnership with some four hundred boutiques in cities such as New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo…