Dries Van Noten: Fragrance Stories Born in a Garden

“How do you feel when you walk through a garden? How can you put a particular feeling, a particular emotion, into words?”
— Dries Van Noten

Essential Information

• Fragrance line launched: March 2022 (the fashion brand was founded in 1986)
• Founder: Dries Van Noten
• Official website: https://www.driesvannoten.com

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

A Boy Born into a Family of Tailors

Dries Van Noten was born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1958. His upbringing made fashion seem an inseparable part of his destiny. His grandfather was a tailor, and his father was known as one of Belgium’s most innovative retailers of prêt-à-porter, or high-end ready-to-wear. With the family trade in his blood, he grew up surrounded by clothing and fabric from the very beginning.

Van Noten went on to study fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, enrolling in 1977. There he met the peers who would later become world-famous as the “Antwerp Six”: Walter Van Beirendonck, Marina Yee, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dirk Van Saene, and Ann Demeulemeester. Van Noten graduated in 1981.

London, 1986: The Beginning of a Legend

After graduating, Van Noten gained experience as a freelance consultant designer for various fashion studios and boutiques. Then, in 1986, he climbed into a small van with the other five designers and headed to London. Their destination was the British Designer Show, an industry trade fair.

What happened over just three days at that exhibition, where the unknown Belgians had arrived, became fashion-industry legend. Orders came immediately from major multibrand retailers, including Barneys in New York and Whistles in London. The media popularised the six designers, whose names were difficult to pronounce in English, as the “Antwerp Six.” At a time when the idea of fashion “from Belgium” lay outside the international industry’s assumptions, it was a revolutionary moment.

That same year, Van Noten presented his first menswear collection under his own name, adding a womenswear line in 1987. In 1989, he opened a flagship in Antwerp’s historic Het Modepaleis building. The store remains a five-floor destination at the heart of the brand.

Paris and an Enduring Philosophy

FashionUnited dates Van Noten’s Paris Fashion Week debut to 1993. The brand’s official timeline, however, states that he made his debut in 1991 with his Spring/Summer 1992 menswear collection and held his first womenswear show, for Spring/Summer 1994, in 1993. From then on, he continued to present both womenswear and menswear collections in Paris every season. (Official timeline) Long described within the industry as “a designer’s designer,” he maintained an independent stance, spending nothing on advertising and avoiding celebrity-led promotion.

“I have always worked organically, driven by a commitment to sincerity. Rather than relying on passing trends or celebrity endorsement, I believe that the quality and craftsmanship of the products should speak for themselves.”
— Dries Van Noten, in an interview with Grazia

In 2018, Puig, the Spanish beauty and fashion group, acquired a majority stake in the brand. In a later letter, Van Noten said that this investment had allowed him to maintain the brand’s growth while preserving its own direction.

2024: From Fashion to Fragrance and the Garden

In March 2024, Dries Van Noten announced that he would step down as creative director of his label. Leaving fashion was emotional, but it was also a transition for which he felt ready. His final collection, the Spring/Summer 2025 menswear show, closed in Paris in June 2024 amid a staging of drifting silver leaves.

After a 38-year career in fashion, Van Noten chose “gardening” and “perfume” as his next chapter.

“At first, I saw the garden as a kind of escape. Then I began to realise that this escape was part of who I am. The garden keeps me balanced as a person. In fashion, you try to control everything. In the garden, however, you have to follow nature. That helps you stay humble. Above all, the garden has taught me patience.”
— Dries Van Noten, in an interview with Wallpaper

After stepping down, Van Noten stated that he would continue to advise the beauty line.

The Birth of the Fragrance Line

The Frédéric Malle Collaboration: 2013

Dries Van Noten’s relationship with perfume began long before the launch of his own fragrance line. From around 2002, his boutiques had sold fragrances from Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle.

In 2013, Frédéric Malle chose Van Noten as the subject of an “olfactory portrait,” composed by perfumer Bruno Jovanovic. The theme was “a Flemish winter”: the feeling of stepping out of rainy Antwerp into a warm interior, scented with the sweetness of traditional Belgian speculoos biscuits and sugar tart. Built around sandalwood, vanilla, saffron, jasmine, and white musk, among other notes, Dries Van Noten par Frédéric Malle became a fragrance “tailored like a couture winter coat,” as Malle put it. Van Noten is said to have worn it as a personal staple thereafter.

Launching an Independent Line: 2022

On March 2, 2022, the first fragrance collection under Dries Van Noten Beauty officially launched. Developed with the Puig group, it centred on ten genderless eaux de parfum and thirty lipstick shades.

Van Noten devoted three years to conceiving the fragrance line. He reportedly invited ten international perfumers to his garden outside Antwerp, allowing them to walk through it and experience its spirit firsthand. Each was given complete creative freedom.

What Defines the Brand

The Philosophy of “Impossible Combinations”

The key phrase running through the Dries Van Noten fragrance line is “impossible combinations.” It is the olfactory expression of Van Noten’s fashion philosophy: placing opposites together to create unexpected harmony.

“Something perfectly beautiful can also be boring. That is why I like contrasts. I want there to be an element of strangeness in my aesthetic.”
— Dries Van Noten, in an interview with Wallpaper

Cannabis Patchouli, for example, brings the familiar weight of patchouli into collision with the lush greenness of clary sage. Vanille Camouflage upends expectations by setting sweet vanilla against the sharp green aroma of galbanum resin. What Van Noten asked of his perfumers was surprise, in a process he calls “creative ping-pong.”

“I approach fragrance in the same way that I approach fashion. The input from the noses is fascinating and teaches me a great deal. I call it creative ping-pong: ideas flow freely, dreams are shared, and even the wildest concepts are met with curiosity. It has been an extraordinarily enriching journey.”
— Dries Van Noten, in an interview with Wallpaper

Fragrances Born of a Garden

Van Noten’s home in Lier, near Antwerp, is a nineteenth-century neoclassical building set in approximately 55 acres, or 22 hectares. Growing hundreds of varieties of plants, the garden can be seen as a “living laboratory” for the perfume collection.

The idea for Mystic Moss began with his affection for Cannabis Patchouli. Perfumer Nicolas Bonneville gave Van Noten a potted patchouli plant for his garden, prompting an exploration of a fresher interpretation that ultimately became the fragrance. Its materials are ethically sourced from around the world, including oakmoss from Macedonia, mandarin from Calabria, and patchouli from Indonesia.

Bottle Design: The Beauty of Apothecary Vials

The perfume bottles take their design inspiration from “apothecary vials,” the medicine bottles used in old-fashioned pharmacies. All are refillable. When empty, a flacon can be displayed as an interior object or reused with the dedicated fragrance refill.

The glass is produced by Stoelzle Masnières Parfumerie, with a different decoration for each fragrance. Eight bottles have a lacquered finish, while two use the company’s proprietary Quali Glass Coat 2.0 technology. The bases combine materials such as porcelain, wood, metal, and resin. The pairing of bottle and base gives visual expression to each fragrance’s “duality.”

Voodoo Chile, for example, combines cerulean-blue glass with a silver base engraved with herb leaves, while Soie Malaquais pairs a dark burgundy bottle with the blue of Delftware, the traditional Dutch pottery.

An Approach to Sustainability

Every perfume contains at least 85% naturally derived ingredients and uses a vegan formula without animal-derived ingredients. The outer packaging uses moulded pulp made from renewable wood fibres sourced from FSC-certified forests. It is designed to protect the bottles during shipping while minimising waste.

Eau de Parfum: Garden Memories Seen Through Different Eyes

The eau de parfum collection launched in 2022 invited several perfumers to interpret Dries Van Noten’s world through their own sensibilities. Before they began, he welcomed them to his house and garden near Antwerp. He showed them how he planted different flowers side by side and combined colours, patterns, and materials in his work. Rather than prescribing detailed formulas, he gave them considerable creative freedom.

Their shared approach was to find an unfamiliar side to familiar materials: leather or spice alongside a flower’s beauty, vivid green leaves against the calm of wood. The first ten fragrances offer different impressions of gardens and fabrics shaped by those contrasts.

Two Roses: Leaving the Flower’s Character Intact

Van Noten’s love of roses did not mean pursuing a single ideal flower. In Raving Rose, Louise Turner pairs a generous rose with pink and black pepper. She wanted an unpretentious, contemporary expression that unsettled the formality of a classical rose. Pepper brings both freshness and heat to the abundant flower, while cashmeran and musk support its trail.

Daphné Bugey’s Rosa Carnivora treats a rose remaining in an autumn garden as a plant rooted in the earth. Earthy vetiver, patchouli, and cistus meet the flower’s softness, leaving a wild edge within its smoothness. Bugey valued a beauty that includes nature’s small imperfections. Rather than arranging a romantic bouquet, she sought a rose that was raw, imperfect, and ambiguous.

Other Textures Within a Flower

For Jardin de l’Orangerie, Daniela Andrier explored orange blossom’s different facets: the impression of the living flower and a sweet, rich, milky smoothness. She wanted to bring both into one perfume. Neroli buds lead through jasmine and ylang-ylang to orange blossom milk and sandalwood, turning a floral impression towards a soft gourmand texture.

Quentin Bisch began Fleur du Mal with the scent of osmanthus itself. Its apricot-like sweetness already has a leathery side. Suede, peach, jasmine, and amber bring the softness of petals closer to an animalic suggestion. Rather than placing flower and leather separately, the composition draws an unexpected expression from within the flower.

In Neon Garden, Fanny Bal began with the composed beauty of orris. Derived from iris roots, it was a material she associated with haute couture. Spearmint and peppermint provide the energy to unsettle that elegance without losing it. Musk and ambroxan support carrot and iris accords, bringing classical refinement together with a cool, lively green sensation.

Three Contrasts Drawn from Leaves and Wood

Nicolas Bonneville’s Cannabis Patchouli layers the green leaves of clary sage with the woody character of patchouli leaves as a pattern of light and shade. Bergamot and cedar leaves open the composition, followed by sage incense and patchouli, then vetiver and musk. Its distinctive structure lies in the meeting of the two leaves’ brightness and depth. A particular favourite of Van Noten’s, it later became the starting point for Mystic Moss.

Santal Greenery was created by Nisrine Bouazzaoui Grillié and Amélie Jacquin. Grillié’s contrast pairs enduring sandalwood with vivid green fig leaves, bringing the stability of wood together with the lightness of something more fleeting. Bergamot and grapefruit lead to violet leaves and a creamy fig accord, softly enveloped by sandalwood and white musk.

Nicolas Beaulieu’s Voodoo Chile began with the Jimi Hendrix song of the same name. Its pairing is rosemary and patchouli, but rather than leaving rosemary as a clear herbal note, he imagined making it hot and dense, like a distorted guitar sound. A cannabis accord, lentisque, cedarwood, and sandalwood join the composition, bringing musical distortion and heat to the plants.

Fabric and Space in the Paris Boutique

Marie Salamagne’s Soie Malaquais grew from a silk dress she saw in the Quai Malaquais boutique. She wanted perfume to express the sensation of fabric flowing as though it were part of the skin. A delicate silk accord wraps the warm sweetness of chestnut, with bergamot, blackcurrant, rose, and cocoa. Its subject extends beyond confectionery to the intimate texture of clothing touching the body.

Amélie Jacquin took the atmosphere of the same Paris boutique as her starting point. Rock the Myrrh connects myrrh with wooden interiors, fine materials, and the meeting of cultures in a neighbourhood of churches and galleries. A generous amount of myrrh is layered with resins including benzoin, with cypress and pink pepper adding expression. Patchouli and hints of suede contribute the quiet richness of the interior and a little of leather’s wildness.

The Eau de Parfum Collection Expands: Seeking Unexpected Pairings

Vanille Camouflage, Crazy Basil, Camomille Satin, and Bitter Splash joined the eau de parfum collection in 2024. The new challenge was to push perfumers who had already made beautiful fragrances further. Van Noten wanted to be surprised, drawing still greater unexpectedness from materials that appeared incompatible.

Alexandra Monet’s Vanille Camouflage refuses to confine vanilla to sweet confectionery. The liqueur-like aspect of Bourbon vanilla and the creamy, almond-like side of Tahitensis meet the green, resinous scent of galbanum. Monet focused on the surprisingly green character of vanilla as a plant. The smooth sweetness remains, surrounded by the impression of green leaves and resins.

In Crazy Basil, Jean-Christophe Hérault gives basil the central role. Its absolute amplifies the herb’s richness, connecting vivid green with the warmth of cedarwood and the expansiveness of amber. Bergamot, mandarin, geranium, lavandin, and rosemary join it before a hinoki accord and musk. The freshness of just-picked herbs wraps around a warm woody centre.

Julien Rasquinet and Paul Guerlain’s Camomille Satin gives a simple wildflower a nocturnal expression. They combine chamomile with vanilla’s sweetness and a leathery facet, seeking the sensation of flowing satin. Lavender, orange blossom, and rose bridge the composition, leaving vanilla, musk, and galbanum. The brightness of a pastoral flower meets the sensuality of fabric enveloping the body.

For Bitter Splash, Suzy Le Helley considered the interplay of light and texture. The cool, juicy brightness of pomelo and grapefruit is covered by the softness of matte leather. Powdery orris, a carrot-seed accord, and vetiver connect that brightness with its shadows. The bottle also contrasts brilliant yellow glass with decoration recalling Asian lacquerwork, reflecting the fragrance’s juxtaposition of radiance and a subdued texture.

The fragrances can also be layered. Van Noten has suggested Bitter Splash with Mystic Moss, Bitter Splash with Crazy Basil, and Crazy Basil with Jardin de l’Orangerie.

Further Explorations of Familiar Materials

Jordi Fernández’s Havana Gold draws on the smoke and heat of a Havana bar, pairing the nostalgic sweetness of liquorice with tobacco’s dark, leathery side. A cool breath of anise and liqueur-like sweetness lead into tobacco smoke, spices, and wood, with benzoin and roasted tonka bean leaving warmth behind. Amber-coloured glass and an aged brass base give the bottle its own variation of light and shade.

Velvet Violet takes velvet as its starting point, setting the greenness of violet against the warmth of roasted sesame. Rather than concentrating only on a sweet, powdery flower, it pairs violet’s leafy green and woody freshness with sesame’s nutty, toasted character. Pink pepper sharpens the opening, barley deepens the roasted-seed texture, and vetiver and tonka bean provide support. Deep purple glass and a sesame-inspired pattern also connect colour, fabric, and scent.

Eau de Toilette: Citrus Brightness and the Warmth Beneath

The eaux de toilette continue the idea of bringing two different sensations together. Mystic Moss joined Orange Smoke and Sur ma peau in 2024, making three compositions that take citrus freshness towards flowers and smoke, the warmth of skin, and salty greenery.

For Orange Smoke, Annick Menardo imagined a meeting between the purity of orange blossom and the mineral texture of incense. Rather than making incense simply heavy and smoky, she used its cool clarity and contrasts of light and shade alongside the flower’s bright sweetness. A quiet shadow lies beneath the orange blossom’s light.

Quentin Bisch’s Sur ma peau draws a pronounced contrast between sparkling freshness and warmth close to the skin. Citrus, including bergamot, meets vanilla, tonka bean, and benzoin. He imagined benzoin melting on the skin, illuminated by the strong backlight of citrus. A light opening and a softly enveloping trail are brought into one fragrance.

Mystic Moss began with Van Noten’s wish to reinterpret Cannabis Patchouli in a fresher way. Bonneville has described shifting patchouli’s earthy sensation towards a salty minerality. Mandarin, clary sage, and oakmoss meet a salt-like accord, introducing a different atmosphere between vivid greenery and earthy depth. It starts from an affection for the original perfume, but changes its interpretation towards spring shoots and new growth rather than simply diluting the same scent.

A Few More Details…

• The Name “Voodoo Chile” Comes from Jimi Hendrix
  The perfume Voodoo Chile takes its name from Jimi Hendrix’s song “Voodoo Chile.” Combining botanical materials such as rosemary, patchouli, and cedarwood, it can be seen as a fragrance infused with the spirit of rock.
• What Does “Modepaleis” Mean?
  The discovery set called Collection Modepaleis takes its name from Het Modepaleis, the historic building that houses the Antwerp flagship. Converted from a former department store, the building is a place that embodies the brand’s roots.
• Photographs of Garden Flowers Became Fabric Prints
  Van Noten’s devotion to his garden influenced his collections before it inspired perfume. For Autumn/Winter 2019, he photographed roses, salvias, dahlias, and delphiniums grown in his own garden and turned the images into fabric prints. “Fashion moves in a hurry. The garden teaches you to wait,” he says.