On a recent afternoon, the designer Dries Van Noten sat in the sprawling old warehouse that houses his Antwerp headquarters, with its bare concrete walls, vintage oak cupboards and views over the city’s harbor. He was altering a jacket for his coming men’s wear show: a nip here, a seam moved there. Then, Mr. Van Noten said, a member of his team pointed out that it was the last piece of the men’s collection this season.
As Mr. Van Noten recounted later, “I said, ‘That’s not the last piece of the men’s collection: It’s the last piece of my career.’”
In March, six years after selling the company he founded in 1986 to Puig, the Spanish luxury group, Mr. Van Noten, 66, did something truly rare in fashion: He announced his retirement. This men’s wear show, next Saturday in Paris, will be his last.
Immediately after the news went out, Mr. Van Noten retreated to his home on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, with his partner in life and fashion, Patrick Vangheluwe, the creative director of his brand, who is also retiring. It has been, he said, “an emotional roller coaster.”
Some days, he said, he thinks: “Oh my God, why? I don’t know why. Some days I’m completely convinced. Some days I’m like, it’s too early.”
His team has begun designing the women’s collection for September, and he has caught sight of some samples. “You think, ‘Oh, they’re selecting that color?’ But I can’t say anything.” He snorted at his inability to disengage. “OK, it’s not working completely.”
