Dries van Noten Opens a Men's Store in Paris

[Faust]

Just a headline from WWD for now.

[MikeN]

Dries Van Noten, which presented its women’s collection yesterday, also opened its first men’s only store at 9 Quai Malaquais, a few feet away from its women’s boutique.
The brand’s 1,076 square foot shop’s interior reflects the seventies rust colored look, while furniture and design objects from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, adds to the rich vintage feel.
The evening collection of guys, Line 9, which was sold exclusively at the Paris store, features tuxedo jackets and trousers, silky tops and bottoms and a velvet dinner jacket. In addition to that a small accessories collection in a similar tone is also on sale.
Dries Van Noten now counts a total of four freestanding units: in Antwerp, Belgium; Tokyo, and Paris, which has two locations.

[Faust]

My blurb and photo

[lowrey]

ah its in the former gallery, I remember looking at windows..

I always wondered why there was no mens at the old store. Not sure if a standalone mens store will be succesful though?

[Johnny]

thanks for the info faust. i spent several hours in the women's shop (which is a lovely place) a few months ago with my wife and crazy daughter running around everywhere (standing on the antique tables and getting told-off by the assistants!). at least I'll have somewhere to go next time.

[Faust]

lol. yes, works the other way around too! you are welcome. we went in one time in paris, and i did not like the haute bourgeois vibe of the women's store (mostly because of the sales people, and we were there after the rick owens show, so you can imagine how we looked). a clash of cultures, so to speak. but i am sure the new space is lovely, and i will stop by next time i'm in paris.

[thehouseofdis]

I don't have a WWD account, does it say if Gert Voorjans was the designer of the shop? He's the designer behind some of the Dries van Noten shops in Asia.

[Faust]

/\ Yes, his name is mentioned in the press release.

[thehouseofdis]

Cool. I guess I should try and hit him up for a job again. I had drinks with him and some of my other friends the last night I was in Antwerp.

[atuhsad]

is there a chance of Dries opening a store in the US? Specifically NYC? I just feel it would be a logical step to have a B&M store of his own here.

[Faust]

That would be nice. I haven't heard anything. I don't think Belgian designers in general like to venture much into the U.S., although Dries and Raf both have dedicated PR here.

[thehouseofdis]

I think a DvN shop would do well in NYC but solo shops are very expensive to build and run. Not that he doesn't have the money but his clothes are already well represented in New York so financially it might not make sense to take the risk. It would be nice though.

[Faust]

Yes, the amount of womenswear Barneys alone buys would be enough to fill a little store. I think a certain SZ member won't let me lie...

[thecure]

This summer I spoke with the Rep. for Dries, and I asked the same question and her answer was that Dries doesn't really care for New York City and he can't visually imagine placing a store in Manhattan. He picks his location by the history of the building and area.

[Johnny]

Hhmm , that seems a bit precious for someone with stores in Singapore and Hong Kong. Presumably, then, those locations weren't chosen because of the proximate vast amounts of disposable income liable to be spent on Western "high fashion"?