Dries Van Noten Glossary: Antwerp Six, Gobelin, Bullion, East-West and 22 More

Posted by

Gemma Deeks

September 21, 2026

On September 21, 2026

Brands we love, How to

Dries Van Noten Glossary: Antwerp Six, Gobelin, Bullion, East-West and 22 More

Posted by

Gemma Deeks

September 21, 2026 On September 21, 2026

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Dries Van Noten has a vocabulary of its own, half of it textile and half of it house history, and the product pages use it without explanation. This glossary defines the 26 terms a shopper meets most, from the Antwerp Six to the East-West bag, with the pieces at Coveti that carry them. Every definition is checked against the house’s own product pages and Biography.

Key facts

26 terms: house history, prints, weaves, embroideries, bag shapes and the current names
The house names its prints and jacquards on the product page (Flemish Painting, Marbled Clay, Floral Tapestry) and Coveti keeps those names in the product copy
Prints on 135 current pieces, jacquards on 65, embroidery on 50
The Ref number decodes the season: 262 Autumn Winter 2026, 261 Spring Summer 2026, 252 Autumn Winter 2025, 251 Spring Summer 2025, 242 Autumn Winter 2024

The terms

Antwerp Six

The six Royal Academy of Fine Arts graduates who showed together in London in 1986: Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee.

Het Modepaleis

The house flagship in Antwerp, a nineteenth-century former menswear store on the Nationalestraat, opened as a Dries Van Noten store in 1989.

Galerie Quai Malaquais

The Paris store, on the Left Bank, opened in 2023, part shop and part gallery.

Ref number

The house reference on every piece, season-style-colour, for example 262-010224-4020. 262 is Autumn Winter 2026, 261 Spring Summer 2026, 252 Autumn Winter 2025.

Flemish Painting print

The Autumn Winter 2026 print: a seventeenth-century still life of fruit and flowers on a dark ground, enlarged until the brushstrokes read. On silk dresses, a wrap skirt, a pareo and the scarf bags.

Marbled Clay print

A swirled two-colour print like marbled paper, in red, cream, petrol and rust, used as an all-over on viscose and as a contrast panel.

Glass Kaleidoscope print

A fractured coloured-glass motif on scarves, a velvet clutch and a leather cardholder.

Peaches print

A photographic print of peaches on a heavyweight cotton tee and a hooded jacket.

Floral Tapestry jacquard

A woven floral in the manner of a tapestry, on the hooded duffle coat, a shirt dress, an envelope bag and an East-West bag.

Wallpaper Tapestry jacquard

A woven wallpaper-pattern jacquard on slim trousers.

Double-dye jacquard

A floral jacquard woven then dyed twice for depth, on a duffel coat, a puffer, trousers and a long skirt.

Gobelin

A dense tapestry-weave fabric, here in floral chenille and lightweight versions, on the East-West bags, a bandeau top, flared trousers and a peacoat.

Fil coupé

A weaving technique where extra weft threads are cut away between motifs to leave a raised pattern; a house favourite on lurex and silk.

Moiré

A watered, rippled surface finish, here on viscose blazers, trousers, a skirt and velvet mules and pumps.

Lurex pinstripe

A viscose and silk cloth with a metallic pinstripe, on a floor-length shirt dress, an off-shoulder dress and drawstring trousers.

Duchesse

A heavy, lustrous satin; the house uses a polyester duchesse in neon yellow and neon orange for oversized belted rain coats, a cargo skirt and long skirts.

Bullion embroidery

Embroidery in coiled metal thread, couched by hand, on the embroidered wool coat, the crepe blazer, the wool bomber and a black scarf.

Matador embroidery

The dense, bullfighter’s-jacket style of embroidery on an off-white cotton coat, a camel blazer, capri trousers and a cropped cotton jacket.

Jewel embroidery

All-over embroidery in glass jewels on a cotton poplin mini dress, a skirt and a shoulder bag from Spring Summer 2026.

East-West bag

A wide, shallow shoulder bag, longer than it is tall, in gobelin and jacquard with adjustable straps.

Scarf bag

A flat viscose tote printed like a scarf, in three sizes, with a detachable pouch.

Resin handle

The rigid top handle on the house’s micro, small, medium and pleated bags, with a detachable strap.

Cocoon

The house word for a rounded, oversized shape: cocoon shirt, cocoon shirt dress, cocoon hoodie, cocoon blouson.

Old brass

The darkened brass finish of the handmade jewellery.

Julian Klausner

Creative director since December 2024; joined the womenswear team in 2018; first show 5 March 2025.

Puig

The Spanish fragrance and fashion group that has held a majority of the house since 2018.

Seeing the terms on the rail

Floral Tapestry jacquard is the Jacquard duffle coat in Sand; the Flemish Painting print is the Silk shirt dress; bullion embroidery is the Embroidered ankle-length wool coat in Black; gobelin is the Embroidered East-West bag in Sky; moiré is the Double breasted moiré blazer in Black; the scarf bag is the Large scarf bag in Brown; old brass is the Long pendant necklace in Old Brass. The materials page counts the cloths across the range.

“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

What is the Antwerp Six?

The six Antwerp Royal Academy graduates who showed together in London in 1986, Dries Van Noten among them.

What does the Dries Van Noten Ref number mean?

Season code, style code and colour code, for example 262-010224-4020. 262 is Autumn Winter 2026.

What is the Flemish Painting print?

A blown-up seventeenth-century still life, the signature print of Autumn Winter 2026, on silk dresses, a wrap skirt and the scarf bags.

What is gobelin?

A dense tapestry-weave fabric the house uses for its East-West bags, a bandeau top, flared trousers and a peacoat.

What is bullion embroidery?

Coiled metal thread couched by hand, the house’s signature embroidery on coats, blazers and a bomber.

What is a Dries Van Noten East-West bag?

A wide, shallow shoulder bag in gobelin and jacquard versions with adjustable straps, the bag shape of the current season.

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, Julian Klausner, Price guide, Where to buy, Sale, Review, Real vs fake, Materials and care, 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.