RUNWAY: Dries Van Noten SS19

Before dissecting Dries Van Noten's SS19 collection, a note must be made about the big news he revealed just a few days ago: Spanish investor Puig had bought majority ownership in the Belgian designer's label. For over 30 years, Van Noten was independent, showing just 4 collections per year, two for men, two women and up until that announcement was one of the few successful and long lasting independent fashion labels. Both Puig and Van Noten say that little will change as the designer will continue to have creative control. That remains to be seen but this could be the first step towards an eventual departure for Van Noten to pursue (what's the saying again?) "other opportunities".

Now back to the collection: there was a vibrancy to this collection, which lent itself to some stunning colors, some in a gradient of color from dark to light, while prints borrowed from Verner Panton gave the collection an arty vibe. In all, this collection seemed to a big exhale for Van Noten and was notably more relaxed and laid back, take the two models wearing only sandals and swim shorts, one even setting the mood for the collection in the first look. Maybe after years of holding his breath in, Van Noten, thanks in part to his new corporate owner, can take a big sigh of relief and it seemed to show.