Who Is Dries Van Noten? The Antwerp Six Designer and His House

Dries Van Noten is the Antwerp fashion house founded in 1986 by the Belgian designer of the same name, one of the six Royal Academy graduates who showed together in London that year and became known as the Antwerp Six. Forty years on it is the house most people mean when they say “print” and “Belgian” in the same sentence: painterly florals, jacquard, fil coupé, embroidery and unexpected colour, cut loosely and shown in Paris twice a year. The company has been majority-owned by the Spanish group Puig since 2018. Its founder retired from the runway in 2024, and Julian Klausner, who designed the womenswear alongside him for six years, has been creative director since December 2024. Coveti carries 382 pieces from the current collections, from $340 to $10,630, every one authenticated before it ships.

Key facts

• Founded in Antwerp in 1986 by Dries Van Noten, born 1958, a graduate of the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts
• One of the Antwerp Six, the group that showed together in London in 1986 with Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee
• First Paris menswear show 1991 (Spring Summer 1992); first Paris womenswear show 1993; two womenswear and two menswear shows a year since
• Flagship Het Modepaleis, a former menswear store in Antwerp, opened 1989; Los Angeles flagship 2020; Paris Galerie Quai Malaquais 2023
• CFDA International Designer of the Year 2008; Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 2015; made a Baron by the King of Belgium 2017; WWD Designer of the Year for women’s and men’s 2023
• Puig took a majority stake in 2018; the founder keeps a minority holding and advises on the beauty line
• Retirement announced March 2024; final show Menswear Spring Summer 2025 in June 2024; Julian Klausner named creative director December 2024, first womenswear show 5 March 2025
• Coveti stock on 20 September 2026: 382 pieces, 239 ready-to-wear and 143 bags, shoes, jewellery and accessories, $340 to $10,630

The Antwerp Six, and why it still matters

In 1986 six recent graduates of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp took their collections to London and sold to Barneys New York and Whistles among others. The British press could not pronounce the names and called them the Antwerp Six. Each went a different way. Van Noten built a house on textiles: his grandfather was a tailor and his father ran a menswear shop in Antwerp, so cloth was the starting point rather than a silhouette. That is still true. A Dries Van Noten collection is designed from the fabric outwards, and the print, the jacquard and the embroidery are decided before the cut.

What the clothes look like

Four things recur every season. The first is pattern worked into the cloth, so a floral is a jacquard rather than a print where possible, and a print is often a painting blown up until the brushstrokes show; this season’s Silk shirt dress and Wrap scarf-skirt carry the Flemish Painting prints, and the Jacquard duffle coat in Sand is cut from a Floral Tapestry jacquard. The second is embroidery treated as fabric rather than trim: the Embroidered ankle-length wool coat in Black carries bullion embroidery on lightweight wool, and the Embroidered crepe blazer in Navy carries 3-D flowers in gold bullion on crepe. The third is colour used in unlikely pairs, rust against petrol, neon yellow against wool, old rose against navy. The fourth is an easy cut: regular and loose fits, drawstring and elasticated waists, the wide leg. The Wide leg jacquard pants in Ocra and the Wide pleated jeans in Indigo are the shape of the season.

The house today

Julian Klausner joined the womenswear team in August 2018 and was named creative director in December 2024, two months after the founder took his last bow at a men’s show in June. His first womenswear show was on 5 March 2025 at the Opéra Garnier in Paris. WWD reported at the time that Van Noten “continues to play an advisory role at the house he sold to Puig in 2018, mostly on the beauty side”. The Autumn Winter 2026 collection on Coveti is Klausner’s: the same textile-first method, with more moiré, more velvet and a run of neon duchesse pieces such as the Oversized floral coat in Neon Orange.

Where to start

A first Dries Van Noten piece is usually one of three things. A printed silk, such as the Printed slip dress in Red in Marbled Clay print at $1,730, because the print is the house in one garment. A jacquard knit, such as the Jacquard wool sweater in Light Red at $830, which is the entry price for the textile idea. And the suede sneaker, the Suede sneakers in Black at $730, which is the piece that turns up most often in searches for the house and the one men and women both buy. The price guide sets out what each family costs, and the print guide covers how to wear the loud pieces without looking dressed by them.

“In June 2024 Dries Van Noten presents his last collection for the House,” the Biography page records, and it dates the appointment of Julian Klausner as Creative Director to December 2024.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dries Van Noten?

A Belgian fashion designer, born in Antwerp in 1958, who founded his own house in 1986 after graduating from the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He is one of the Antwerp Six. The house he founded carries his name and is now led by Julian Klausner.

Is Dries Van Noten still designing?

No. He announced his retirement in March 2024 and showed his final collection, Menswear Spring Summer 2025, in June 2024. He advises the house on its beauty line. Julian Klausner has designed the collections since December 2024.

Who owns Dries Van Noten?

The Spanish fragrance and fashion group Puig has held a majority stake since 2018. Dries Van Noten himself keeps a minority holding.

Where is Dries Van Noten based?

Antwerp, Belgium. The house shows in Paris, and its flagship Het Modepaleis has been in Antwerp since 1989.

What is Dries Van Noten known for?

Print, jacquard, embroidery and colour on relaxed, wearable cuts; a textile-first way of designing; and a refusal to advertise. The house also has a beauty line, launched in 2022 with fragrances and lipsticks.

Does Coveti sell Dries Van Noten?

Yes. Coveti carries 382 pieces from the current women’s collections, ready-to-wear, bags, shoes, jewellery and accessories, with authenticity verified before dispatch and express shipping worldwide.

Read next

The history, year by year. Who designs Dries Van Noten now. Is it a luxury brand? The Autumn Winter 2026 edit.

More Dries Van Noten guides

Every Dries Van Noten page by Coveti’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: How to wear the prints, vs Marni vs Etro, The AW26 edit, Is it a luxury brand?, Brands like Dries Van Noten, History timeline, Julian Klausner, Price guide, Where to buy, Sale, Review, Real vs fake, Materials and care, Glossary, Who wears it, Size guide, Shoe size guide, New arrivals 2026, Archive and vintage, Coats, Jackets and blazers, Dresses, Skirts, Trousers, Jeans and denim, Shirts and blouses, Knitwear, Embroidered pieces, Black, Shoes, Sneakers, Boots, Loafers, Heels and mules, Bags, Embroidered bags, Jewellery, Earrings, Necklaces and bracelets, Scarves and collars, Belts, Sunglasses.

Sources and method

Checked on 20 September 2026 by Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Coveti. Product facts, the compositions, lengths, fits, model measurements, heel heights and countries of manufacture, are the brand’s own product-page text; counts, prices and price ranges are Coveti’s live catalogue on that date and move with stock; the house history and the wearers come from the brand’s own pages and the press articles listed below, each read on the date above. Where a claim could not be checked against one of these it was left out, and where the fitting room is giving its own advice the page says so.

• driesvannoten.com, Biography: the house’s own timeline from the 1986 debut to the December 2024 appointment of Julian Klausner
• driesvannoten.com, Care Guide: the house’s washing, drying, storage and dry-cleaning advice
• driesvannoten.com, FAQ: shipping, returns and the house’s own customer answers
• Dries Van Noten product pages, en-fr: the composition, fit, length, model and country-of-manufacture bullets of every style, 380 pages saved on 20 September 2026
• WWD, 16 December 2024: Dries Van Noten appoints Julian Klausner as creative director
• Wikipedia, Dries van Noten: the Puig acquisition and the March 2024 retirement announcement
• Wikidata Q1258918: the house’s entity record
• W Magazine, Katherine Cusumano, 24 November 2016: Michelle Obama in Dries Van Noten at the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony
• The Hollywood Reporter: Dries Van Noten on celebrity dressing, naming Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Dries Van Noten on Instagram, @driesvannoten
• Coveti live catalogue, 20 September 2026: prices, fit and stock