Paris Fashion Week: Dries Van Noten's Handsome Women for Spring 2011

To be called a "handsome woman" is not the sort of compliment one wants to hear these days--imposing, not altogether feminine. But for Spring 2011, Dries Van Noten wanted to put the handsome woman on a pedestal; she's youthful and vibrant yet strong-willed, dignified, and effortlessly, casually glamorous.

Which could explain Van Noten's surprising move to a relatively minimal palette for spring. There were some ombrés and pale, almost delicate florals pulled from Belgian painter Jef Verheyen's ability to capture light and Chinese porcelains, respectively, but the real focus was on exaggerated, dramatic proportions. Oversized is an understatement for the broad-shouldered boyfriend blazers, wide-legged trousers in canvas or denim, and cotton button-down shirts stretched and elongated as if viewed through a funhouse mirror; when such pants were coated in pearlescent paillettes and a belted suit jacked faded from blushing pink to mauve, it made for a quietly luxe, deceptively simple effect. Embroidered jackets and menswear-as-womenswear trousers were right in line with the fashion world's seventies moment, but everything had a very Dries touch: the color gradiations, delicate application of bleached prints, and manipulation of shapes were all there, albeit in a quieter, more downbeat way.

While the fashion world has been divided down extreme lines for Spring 2011--either stark minimalism or bold, Technicolor clashes--Dries Van Noten has effortlessly found middle ground. He may have turned the volume down to a whisper this season, but the easy, casually chic essence of his collection spoke for itself.

Photos: vogue.com