Timeline: Dries van Noten’s career in a nutshell

The end of an era: Dries van Noten is stepping down as creative director at his eponymous fashion house, and the search for his successor has already begun. FashionUnited presents a little refresher when it comes to Van Noten's career.

1958

Dries van Noten is born in Antwerp into a family of tailors.

1977

Van Noten attends the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Here, Van Noten meets Walter van Beirendonck, Marina Yee, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dirk van Saene and Ann Demeulemeester. These six will later become known as 'The Antwerp Six'.

1981

Van Noten completes his fashion design studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

1986

The designer debuts his first collection under his own name. The menswear collection is sourced by department stores Barneys in New York and Whistles in London.

1987

A year after founding his own fashion house and debuting menswear, womenswear is also added to the range.

1989

The fashion house opens its very first mono-brand shop in 1981. It does so in 'Het Modepaleis', a historic building in Antwerp and a former department store. The shop remains an important place for the fashion house to this day. The brand has a total of five floors at its disposal.

1993

This is the year when Dries van Noten makes his debut at Paris Fashion Week. Since his debut, the designer has shown a women's collection and a men's collection twice a year in the French capital.

2004

One of Van Noten's most famous shows is his 50th show. The presentation is given on a large table, set for 500 guests. Those who think this is a pre-show dinner are wrong. In fact, the models step onto the tables.

2014

The designer will be honoured with an exhibition at the French museum Musée Des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The exhibition called 'Inspirations' zooms in on the designer's inspiration. It is the first time in the French museum's history that a Belgian designer has been in the spotlight.

2017

What is a great designer without a documentary of his own? In 2017, the documentary 'Dries' will be released. Documentary filmmaker Reiner Holzemer follows the designer for a year, giving insight into Van Noten's life and creative mind and heart.

2018

Spanish luxury conglomerate Puig takes a majority stake in fashion house Dries van Noten. The designer retains a minority stake and remains creative director and chairman of the board.

2022

Under the wings of luxury group Puig, which has experience in the cosmetics sector, the fashion house is stepping into beauty. The brand will launch 10 gender fluid perfumes, 30 lipsticks in refillable sheaths and another set of accessories.

2023

The fashion house will open a shop entirely dedicated to perfume, beauty and accessories in Paris. This is the first time the fashion brand has done so.

2024

Dries van Noten steps down from his own fashion house. A successor to the iconic Belgian designer is still being sought. "I've been preparing for this moment for a while and I feel it's time to leave room for a new generation of talents to bring their vision to the brand," the Belgian designer shares in a statement.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.NL. Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.