Dries Van Noten SS21 Is a Psychedelic Trip Through Sunbursts of Color and Movement
Inspired by the pre-psychedelia era films shot by Len Lye.
Dries Van Noten is bold, joyous, playful, referential and so much more, forever delivering powerful presentations that each season continues to surprise. For Spring/Summer 2021, the designer doesn’t just impress through his clothing, but goes ahead with the now-commonplace co-ed approach, delivering men’s and women’s collections as one in a Viviane Sassen-shot lookbook.
Captured partly at a beach in Rotterdam, and partly at a studio in Amsterdam, Dries Van Noten draws inspiration from his love and appreciation for psychedelia, most notably the films of the artist Len Lye. The films were made in color in the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, precursing the true era of psychedelics by decades but by all means serving as the foundations for it.
Nods to this can be seen in many pieces, and not just through the choice of colors but through garment design and production, too. For example, constructed balloon sleeves frequently appear, while exaggerated wide-scooped necklines, high-waisted pants, caftans, and belted pieces continue to play with construction, proportions, and movement.
Psychedelic sunbursts of orange, pink, metallic gold, and silver appear alongside pieces such as a fishnet-covered coat in a solarized black and silver colorway, referencing Lye’s work once more. The use of organza and silk, linen, crisp cotton and more further allude to this air of floatiness and movement, coming together for a cohesive co-ed collection indebted in psychedelia.
Rounding out the SS21 co-ed collection is, once more, additional nods to Lye. All of the prints are taken from frames captured from Lye’s films, printed in a new way that further explores movement. For example, a ruffled dress is covered in an explosion of color that moves over the dress, while a sweater is covered in a mountainous blue sky and brown rock-like piece of artwork that works its way around the garment.
Take a look at the Dries Van Noten SS21 collection shot by Viviane Sassen in the gallery above. Everything you see will drop in the coming months at Dries Van Noten’s flagship Antwerp store and at select stockists worldwide.
In other news, Balenciaga has released its Summer 2021 Pre-Collection lookbook.
