Dries Van Noten AW14 Backzip Bomber 

Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts is widely regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious fashion schools, boasting an extremely impressive line of alumni since its founding in 1663. Standing at the pinnacle is a portion of the 1980 graduating class, commonly referred to as “The Antwerp Six”. One member of this iconic group, Dries van Noten, launched his eponymous label in 1986 and quickly became an international success. 

Born to a family of tailors, Van Noten entered the fashion design course of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts at the age of 18. Upon graduation, he worked as a consultant designer before releasing his first menswear collection to critical acclaim. Western audiences embraced his designs wholeheartedly, of which only seemed to increase in reverence over time. 

2014 saw the grand opening of Dries Van Noten, “Inspirations,” a first ever exhibition featuring Van Noten’s designs and influences at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. With so many references at his disposal, the designer drew inspiration from everywhere he went; only to find difficulty later when creating his Fall/Winter 2014 collection. To Van Noten, “It was hell,” to design garments that incorporated so many different kinds of fabrics, treatments, and influences. Drawing from various inspirations and narratives, Van Noten described the starting point for this collection as, “Bronzino and rave,” and later added, “It was street style, ethnic, punk, new wave, new romantics, hippies, R&B, and all these things but mixed with some Renascences.” 

The designer’s 2014 collection became one of the most coveted yet, with the men’s outerwear utilizing extremely long zippers and cropped silhouettes with distinct dying methods. Although none of these concepts were new in any form, the collection boasted great diversity in its appearances despite uniform construction. Lively prints were mixed with baroque embroidery on bomber jackets, shirts, and various garments. Coats were completely dyed and then acid-washed; while collared shirts were tie-yed; and jeans striped in acid. 

This bomber jacket from the F/W 2014 collection features a maximalist take on zippers, which cover the arms and back. It also contains a myriad of other zippers that accompany the garment, complimenting the orange quilted pattern.

Featured here is a bomber jacket with an and back-zipper details.