Fall 2011 Paris Fashion Week: Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten stayed true to his decadent eclecticism for Fall 2011, supplying us with a full-throttle experience filled with tweedy textures, snakeskin swirled skirts, shimmery knits, and a heavy helping of outstanding collage-effect prints. Sounds busy at first read, but look closely and you will soon become entranced with the designer's genius story. The inspiration, which Van Noten cites as David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust and Ballets Russes founder Sergei Diaghilev, came together to form a mixture of marbled tweed jackets, tuxedo striped trousers, fur-lined coats, and a bevy of multicolored patterns made into knee-length skirts and blouses. There was an eye-catching button-up work shirt — one of our favorite pieces — smartly remixed with a bold silk print trailing down one arm and across the back. And then the dresses appeared: languid, loose, and seductive, cut almost like a loose tee up top and sliced all the way up to the thigh on down below.

• Trends: Collage prints, tuxedo trousers, metallic tweed.
• Colors: Bright rust, blue, gray, black, gold, silver.
• Key Looks: Collage print pieces, especially the gowns.
• Accessories: Snake print, fur, and velvet booties along with multicolored sandals.
• Who Would Wear It: Eclectic glamorous women like Cate Blanchett and Julianne Moore.