Dries Van Noten Spring 2015

PARIS — Fashion Week in the French capital is but two days old and it already boasts what surely will go down as a candidate for the moment of the ready-to-wear season, if not an outright winner. Wednesday afternoon at the Grand Palais celebrated Belgian designer Dries Van Noten engineered spectacle as precious as it was unexpected when during the finale for his women’s Spring 2015 collection the models stopped in place and lowered themselves to the runway made to look like a mossy glade. They held position for several minutes as show-goers flanked either side of the carpeted runway and do what nearly any warm blooded creature with a smartphone in its pocket would do, snap pictures by the dozens and flood social media with them. Spread this over several hundred attendees and a critical mass is achieved with the hashtag #driesvannoten. That was the idea anyhow during a meticulous rehearsal that spanned nearly and hour and it too came to pass at show time. Fast fashion this was not, nay, the collection rightly demanded something more, which given the designer’s considerable talent was not at all difficult. The collection for spring asked for patience in fact, moments spent in contemplation, much like would a sanctuary such as a forest floor under the din of birdsong and eventually Oscar and the Wolf’s “Strange Entity.” There are few better circumstances to contemplate than by admiring seven models from across the Next network including Lera Tribel, Hedvig Palm, Karolin Wolter,