“A gesture of couture, but not in a retro way—the way she stands, holds her bag, all these things,” is how Dries Van Noten explained the modern elegance he presented in his spring-summer 2019 collection. A sheer top with yellow sequins that from distance looked like canary feathers; impressive, beaded mesh work that topped white, crisp shirts; evening-wear that looked like patched out of silk foulards. The Belgian designer as well played with draping, ending up with a grown-up offer of chic business-wear. Some sort of street attitude was delivered in form of colourful, PVC coats. This was Van Noten’s best collection since his much celebrated 100th show – all the garments, playful and all, looked like they are absolutely ready to be worn on the daily basis. Well, maybe the colourful feather headdresses would be a hard bit to repeat at home. But on the runway, it looked sublime.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.