MASTER AT WORK

Photo by Tommy Ton

"Fashion today is all about the product. With all the pre-collections and the shows that are just marketing exercises, it has turned into a system. For an old romantic like me, this is hurting a little bit. That’s why I try to do things my way. I like to have happy people around me, and it’s for these people that I create my collections. Fashion should never be too dark or too gloomy: it should evoke feelings of joy. I believe in clothes as tools for self-expression. The biggest compliment is if I see someone on the street wearing something I have created in a way I would never have imagined. Clothes should always tell something of the person that wears them – and very little of the designer who made them." - Dries Van Noten