Culture

Dries Van Noten's 'Inspirations' dazzle in Antwerp

Antwerp's Fashion Museum, the MoMu, is staging a major exhibition with work of the celebrated Flemish fashion designer Dries Van Noten. Entitled 'Inspirations' the exhibition has allowed Van Noten to share the sources of inspiration that have shaped his collections over the years.

Van Noten has grouped each collection around a particular theme with top works of art, photographs, films and videos that have provided inspiration. Masters like Lumley, a follower of Hans Holbein - present here with a painting entitled 'Lady Margaret Wotton, Marchioness of Dorset' - have not only inspired contemporary painters like Elizabeth Peyton, but also fashion designers like Dries Van Noten. Peyton's Lady with an Ermine 1489-90 (after Leonardo Da Vinci) features in the section entitled Flemish Masters.

Gold too is a favourite theme in Van Noten's work and in Antwerp he acknowledges his indebtedness to a golden Peruvian death masque from the 1100's as well as Jan Pieter Antoon Verschuylen's Rays monstrance from 1861.

'Inspirations' will not only interest fashionistas but has a wider appeal as it also includes paintings by celebrated artists like Damien Hirst, Yves Klein, Pablo Picasso and Mark Rothko. In a tribute to the uniform items from Van Noten's collections are placed next to Mark Rothko's 'Grey, Orange on Maroon' whose courageous red stripe seems to continue to flow in the uniform of 'Frederick Burnaby' by James Tissot.

The exhibition was first staged at the Paris museum Les Arts Décoratifs last year and also draws on many items from this collection.

It appears here in a slightly different form that includes a garden by the Norwegian olfactory artist Sissel Tolaas and a film by the American video artist David Michalek. 'Inspirations' runs at the Antwerp Fashion Museum MoMu until 19 July 2015.

Top stories