When Dries Van Noten retired from his namesake brand in June, the legendary Belgian fashion designer told GQ that whoever succeeded him would have to “dare.” “We always wanted to surprise people,” Van Noten said, “and that’s important…I think they have to dare, they have to move forward.”
On Monday, the label synonymous with intelligent, artful menswear announced that it had found change within, appointing longtime studio design hand Julian Klausner as its next creative director. Klausner will present his first men’s collection as a lookbook in January.
The 33-year-old Klausner joined Dries Van Noten in 2018 and rose to head of womenswear. In a statement, Van Noten said that he and Klausner worked closely together: “I have complete confidence in Julian’s creativity and vision. He is not only a talented designer, but also a clear choice to take over after my departure. His deep understanding of the brand and its values will ensure a seamless transition and a bright future.” (“I hope you’ll follow him in his journey!” Van Noten cheerily added in a signed email accompanying the statement.)
In a year with more open creative director roles than usual, there have been countless rumors swirling about who is going where—with the exception of Dries Van Noten. Ever since March, when the Antwerp Six alum took the fashion world by surprise by announcing his retirement after a defining 38-year career, smart money was on his successor coming from within the brand’s design studio. Unlike other fashion companies struggling to find or maintain relevance, Dries Van Noten didn’t need a hard pivot. To “move forward” at Dries Van Noten is to design with the same curiosity and inspiration that he did. His clothes had a way of making the wearer feel like the most interesting person in any room. And at his teary-eyed finale in June, Van Noten made it clear that perhaps the only worse fate for his namesake brand than a radical aesthetic overhaul would be if it devolved into a stale greatest hits tribute line.
In a statement, Klausner signaled that he will look to Van Noten’s archive while introducing his own ideas. “I am beyond thrilled to oversee the upcoming seasons as we begin the next chapter for this house. The incomparable legacy that Dries is leaving behind is monumental, serving as an endless source of precious inspiration. I look forward to embarking on new ambitious challenges while honouring the heritage we all cherish.”
Klausner cuts a low-key figure on the international fashion scene. He graduated from the storied La Cambre fashion design program in Brussels in 2016, and then worked as a junior designer at Maison Margiela before joining Dries Van Noten. In a video published on Dries Van Noten’s website on Monday, we get a rare glimpse of a bespectacled Klausner working, smiling widely as he works in a wardrobe fitting. Says Klausner in the video: “The last thing I wanted to do is imitate Dries. I want to push it forward and do something new out of it.” But perhaps not too new. “At the end it’s about feeling inspired, and provoking an emotion,” Klausner adds. Which is a very Dries Van Noten-like thing to say. There’s one more detail that suggests Klausner has taken his former boss’s wisdom to heart. Klausner wears a dark navy jumper, indistinguishable from the one that was the centerpiece from Van Noten’s famous daily uniform.
