Julian Klausner at Dries Van Noten: Who Designs the House Now

Posted by

Gemma Deeks

September 21, 2026

On September 21, 2026

Brands we love, Fashion

Julian Klausner at Dries Van Noten: Who Designs the House Now

Posted by

Gemma Deeks

September 21, 2026 On September 21, 2026

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Julian Klausner is the creative director of Dries Van Noten, appointed in December 2024 to succeed the founder, who retired from the runway that year. He is Belgian-born, trained at La Cambre in Brussels, and joined the Dries Van Noten womenswear team in August 2018, so the appointment was an insider’s. His first womenswear show was on 5 March 2025 at the Opéra Garnier in Paris. The Autumn Winter 2026 collection now at Coveti is his: 311 pieces that keep the house’s textile-first method and add more moiré, velvet and neon duchesse. This page answers the questions people ask about the handover: who owns the house, whether Dries Van Noten still designs, and what has changed.

Key facts

Julian Klausner named creative director of Dries Van Noten in December 2024
Joined the house in August 2018 and designed the women’s collections alongside the founder for six years
Belgian-born; graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s from La Cambre, Brussels, in 2016; interned at Thom Browne, Kenzo and Maison Margiela
First womenswear runway show 5 March 2025, Opéra Garnier, Paris; first men’s collection (Fall 2025) shown as a look book
Dries Van Noten announced retirement March 2024, last show June 2024, keeps a minority stake and advises on the beauty line
Puig has held the majority of the house since 2018
Autumn Winter 2026 at Coveti: 311 pieces, $340 to $7,370

Who designs Dries Van Noten now?

Julian Klausner. The house announced his appointment on 16 December 2024, and WWD reported the same day that Dries Van Noten “said he has ‘complete confidence’ in Julian Klausner as his successor” and that Klausner “designed womenswear alongside the Belgian founder for the past six years”. The founder’s own last show was Menswear Spring Summer 2025 in June 2024; Klausner was among the team who walked out for the bow.

Did Dries Van Noten retire?

Yes, from the runway. He announced it in March 2024 after thirty-eight years in fashion. He remains a minority shareholder in the house he sold to Puig in 2018 and, as WWD put it, “continues to play an advisory role at the house he sold to Puig in 2018, mostly on the beauty side”. The beauty line, twelve fragrances and thirty lipsticks launched in 2022, is where his name still appears most directly.

What has changed in the clothes

Less than the headlines suggested. Klausner designed the womenswear for six years before the title changed, and the method is the one the house has used since the 1990s: cloth first, cut second. What is his is a taste for surface that moves, moiré viscose on the Double breasted moiré blazer in Black and the Belted moiré pants in Black, cotton viscose velvet on the Wide leg pants in Navy and the wedge pumps, lurex pinstripe on the Long lurex shirt dress in Blue, and a run of neon polyester duchesse on the Oversized floral coat in Neon Orange and the long printed skirts. The prints are still paintings and marbled paper. The embroidery is still gold bullion. The trouser is still wide.

What to buy from the Klausner collections

The Silk shirt dress is the piece that will stand for his first autumn, a Flemish still life on an oversized silk cocoon. The Embroidered East-West bag in Sky, gobelin with gold sequin clusters, is the accessory. The Wide pleated jeans in Indigo and the Merino sweater in Black are the plain pieces that show how easy the cut has stayed. The AW26 edit ranks twenty pieces.

“Van Noten continues to play an advisory role at the house he sold to Puig in 2018, mostly on the beauty side,” WWD wrote in December 2024.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the creative director of Dries Van Noten?

Julian Klausner, since December 2024. He joined the house in 2018 and designed the womenswear alongside the founder before the appointment.

Is Dries Van Noten still designing his label?

No. He retired from the runway in 2024, keeps a minority stake and advises on the beauty line.

Does Puig own Dries Van Noten?

Yes, Puig has held a majority stake since 2018.

When was Julian Klausner’s first show?

5 March 2025, womenswear, at the Opéra Garnier in Paris.

Has the sizing changed under Klausner?

No. The house still cuts on French sizing with regular and loose fits; Coveti shows it on the UK ladder, FR 36 as UK 8.

Is the new Dries Van Noten as good?

The method, the ateliers and the cloths are the same, and the first two years have kept the print and embroidery signatures. The pieces at Coveti are the evidence; the review page sets out what to look at.

More Dries Van Noten guides

Every Dries Van Noten page by Coveti’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: Who is Dries Van Noten?, How to wear the prints, vs Marni vs Etro, The AW26 edit, Is it a luxury brand?, Brands like Dries Van Noten, History timeline, 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.