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 (in Japanese). 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.

The Fragrance Collection

The Launch Collection: Ten Fragrances in 2022

The first ten fragrances, presented in March 2022, were created by individual perfumers. Rather than sharing a single “brand scent,” each stands as a distinct perspective. The main fragrances and their perfumers are listed below.

• Cannabis Patchouli  / Perfumer: Nicolas Bonneville. A contrast of light and shade between fresh clary sage and woody patchouli.
• Fleur du Mal  / Perfumer: Quentin Bisch. A fruity, floral leather fragrance in which the innocence and sensuality of osmanthus coexist.
• Jardin de l’Orangerie  / Perfumer: Daniela Andrier. A woody gourmand exploring the sweet, ripe duality of orange blossom.
• Neon Garden  / Perfumer: Fanny Bal. An aromatic floral of orris and mint that “shakes up the classics.”
• Raving Rose  / Perfumer: Louise Turner. A spicy, green floral that is “a rose, yet not a rose.”
• Rock the Myrrh  / Perfumer: Amélie Jacquin. A suede-leather fragrance with myrrh in the leading role.
• Rosa Carnivora  / Perfumer: Daphné Bugey. A creamy rose woven from Damask rose and patchouli.
• Santal Greenery  / Perfumers: Nisrine Bouazzaoui Grille, Amélie Jacquin. A clean combination of sandalwood and green notes.
• Soie Malaquais  / Perfumer: Marie Salamagne. A gourmand floral of chestnut and a silk accord.
• Voodoo Chile  / Perfumer: Nicolas Beaulieu. A distinctive aromatic composition combining rosemary, patchouli, and cannabis.

Van Noten has publicly named Cannabis Patchouli as a particular personal favourite.

Mystic Moss and Beyond: 2024 Onwards

Four new fragrances joined the collection in 2024: Vanille Camouflage, Crazy Basil, Camomille Satin, and Bitter Splash. Like the existing collection, all are based on the philosophy of “impossible combinations” and are designed with layering in mind.

Among the layering combinations Van Noten himself recommends are “Bitter Splash + Mystic Moss,” “Bitter Splash + Crazy Basil,” and “Crazy Basil + Jardin de l’Orangerie.”

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.