Dries Van Noten documentary set for release

London film distributor Dogwoof has picked up the worldwide rights to Reiner Holzemer’s film that looks at the 25-year career of fashion designer Dries Van Noten.

The film will be presented at AFM (American Film Markets & Conferences) next week at a "work in progress" screening and should be released in theatres next year, according to Variety.

Holzemer followed the designer for a year during which he designed four collections and looks back at his career, as well as going behind the scenes at his atelier and his home. Well known fashion figures are interviewed in the film including Iris Apfel, Suzy Menkes and Pamela Golbin, chief curator of fashion and textiles at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

The director said the designer, who famously keeps a low profile, took some persuading to take part in the film. "It took me a very long time to convince Dries to share his passions, his creative and intimate world in front of a camera,” Holzemer told Variety. “I followed him for a whole year and I think I came as close to him and his world as it is possible. I hope the result is a very personal insight into his life and career.”

Antwerp-based Van Noten graduated from the Antwerp Academy in 1980 and his fashion designing career began in 1986 when he showed his first collection in London as part of the Antwerp Six collective (fellow members included Walter van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee).

Famous for his use of prints and colour Van Noten fell out of favour in the minimalist 90s but made a comeback and in the mid-2000s, picking up the CFDA's International Designer of the Year award in 2008, the same year in which he dressed Cate Blanchett for the Academy Awards. Today he shows his collections as part of Paris Fashion Week and is sold in his own stores globally as well as some of the most prestigious multi-brand retailers.

Read our trend expert Sandra Halliday's review of Dries Van Noten's SS17 show here.