Dries Van Noten vs Marni vs Etro: Print, Cut, Price and Who Each Suits

Dries Van Noten, Marni and Etro are the three houses a shopper who likes print and colour ends up comparing, and they are less alike than they look on a rail. Etro is Italian paisley and bohemian richness, a family house from Milan founded in 1968. Marni is Milanese too, founded in 1994, and its prints are graphic, naive and often deliberately awkward in colour. Dries Van Noten is Belgian, textile-led, and its prints come from paintings, tapestries and archives; the cut is the easiest of the three and the palette the most unexpected. Coveti carries Dries Van Noten; Marni and Etro are not stocked, so this is a comparison of the houses rather than a shopping list, with the Dries Van Noten pieces linked where they make the point.

Key facts

• Dries Van Noten: Antwerp, 1986, Antwerp Six, textile-first, shows in Paris; creative director Julian Klausner since December 2024
• Marni: Milan, 1994, founded by Consuelo Castiglioni, known for graphic prints and colour-blocking; creative director Francesco Risso since 2016
• Etro: Milan, 1968, founded by Gimmo Etro as a textile company, known for paisley; creative director Marco De Vincenzo since 2022
• Where they overlap: printed silk dresses, jacquard coats, colour used against expectation, a customer who does not want a logo
• Where they split: Dries Van Noten cuts loose and low-key, Marni cuts sculptural and playful, Etro cuts closer to the body and richer in surface
• Dries Van Noten at Coveti: 239 ready-to-wear pieces from $470 to $10,630, 143 accessories from $340

Print

Etro’s paisley is a house signature the way a monogram is; you know it from the street. Marni’s prints are illustrative, dots and blooms and abstract shapes drawn rather than photographed. Dries Van Noten’s prints are art-historical and photographic: a Flemish still life, marbled paper, a tapestry. The Silk shirt dress shows the difference in one piece, a painting worn as a dress. If you want the print to be recognisable as a brand, Etro. If you want it to look like something you found, Dries Van Noten.

Cut

This is the clearest split. Dries Van Noten trousers are wide and often elasticated, the Wide leg jacquard pants in Ocra being typical, and the coats are regular and loose. Marni plays with volume, cropped and boxy and rounded. Etro is the most conventional of the three, a closer waist and a longer line. A shopper who wants ease with the pattern chooses Dries Van Noten; one who wants shape chooses Marni; one who wants glamour chooses Etro.

Price

All three sit in the same band for ready-to-wear. At Coveti a Dries Van Noten printed silk dress is $1,730 to $3,200, a jacquard coat $4,760, a wool blazer from $2,460, and the knitwear starts at $800. The embroidered pieces are the exception: the Embroidered ankle-length wool coat in Black at $6,550 is priced like couture because the bullion work is done by hand. The price guide sets the whole range out.

Accessories

Marni’s bags are the best known of the three, the Trunk and the Market tote. Etro’s are paisley. Dries Van Noten’s are decorated objects: the Embroidered East-West bag in Sky in gobelin with gold sequin clusters, and the flat printed Large scarf bag in Brown. Its shoes are the house’s quiet success, the suede Suede sneakers in Black above all. Its jewellery is handmade in brass, resin and glass, the Long pendant necklace in Old Brass being the signature piece.

Who each house suits

Dries Van Noten suits the woman who wants to wear colour and pattern at forty and sixty as easily as at thirty, and who does not want to be identified by a logo. Marni suits a more playful, art-school dresser. Etro suits occasion dressing and a richer, more Italian idea of glamour. Coveti’s own peers for the Dries Van Noten customer, both stocked, are La DoubleJ for archival Italian print and Erdem for romantic florals; the brands-like guide covers ten.

“Ever since, Dries stages two womenswear and two menswear shows each year,” the house writes on its Biography page of the first Paris womenswear show in 1993.

Frequently asked questions

Is Dries Van Noten more expensive than Marni and Etro?

The ready-to-wear sits in the same band. Dries Van Noten’s hand-embroidered pieces are priced higher than anything comparable at the other two because the work is done by hand.

Which of the three is easiest to wear every day?

Dries Van Noten. The cuts are regular and loose, the trousers often elasticated, and the printed pieces are designed to sit with plain tailoring.

Does Coveti stock Marni and Etro?

No. Coveti stocks Dries Van Noten, and among print-led houses also La DoubleJ, Erdem, Alemais and Zimmermann.

Which house is best for prints?

It depends on the print you want. Etro for paisley, Marni for graphic drawn prints, Dries Van Noten for painterly, art-historical prints and woven jacquards.

Are the sizes comparable?

Dries Van Noten uses French sizing (FR 34 to 44, shown on Coveti as UK 6 to 16) and cuts generously. Marni and Etro use Italian sizing and Etro cuts closer.

Read next

Ten brands like Dries Van Noten. Is it a luxury brand? How to wear the prints. The price guide.

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, 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