Thursday 21 July 2011

dries van noten on national day


Today is the National Day of Belgium so it seems fitting to give you a big dose of designer Dries Van Noten who, in case you didn't know, happens to be an Antwerp native. I'm giving you a taste of two seasons: above are some of my favourites from his Spring 2011 Collection and below from the Autumn 2011. (Remind me to snap a few photographs for you of his shop on Nationalestraat street.)

A little history lesson is bound to follow: Belgians revolted in the year of 1830 and gained independence from the Netherlands. On 21 July 1831 Leopold I (House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) became the first King of the Belgians. The two largest regions in Belgium are Flanders in the north, where they speak Flemish/Dutch, and Wallonia in the south, where they speak French. In Eastern Wallonia there is also a small community of German speakers. Brussels in the south is the capital and Antwerp, which I'm proud to call my home, is the largest city in the north.

It's a bit ironic that the country's motto is 'Strength through Unity' because Belgium is still without a government, more than one year after the elections in 2010 (here's an interesting BBC clip). Maybe the unity thing doesn't apply to politics, but who cares about politics anyway when there is gorgeous fashion to be looked at? wink

I'm off to the kitchen to make pancakes. I hope you're enjoying a wonderful day! 

photo credit:
Spring 2011 collection: Marcio Madeira for Vogue US
Autumn 2011 collection: Yannis Vlamos for Vogue US

5 comments:

  1. great post! How appropriate! I adore their prints!!
    Come follow my blog darling :)

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  2. thanks for the history lesson, enjoy the day :)

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  3. Haha very interesting commentary! And I have a designer crus on Dries van Noten!

    PvdH -designer and illustrator

    www.ThePvdHJournal.com

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  4. great post, you couldn't have picked a more stylish Belgian. I luuuuv the outfit on that first photo. Happy national day! I told you it would rain ;) (Iris)

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  5. Great post! I love Dries! He makes me feel so proud to be from Antwerp. I also love how you couple our National Day with something positive Belgium is known for. If it wasn't for our great designers, all people would remember our country for is its paedophiles and its political problems!

    I discovered your blog yesterday and I love it! Couldn't leave any comments yesterday, but YAY - no problems today!

    x E.

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