Dries Van Noten may have taken his final runway bow, but he remains deeply involved in his namesake brand. Since the beginning of this year, he has overseen the interior design of five new Dries Van Noten stores, including one on Hanover Square in London that opened earlier this month and another on Mercer Street in New York, which welcomed its first customers just 48 hours ago. A sixth store in Milan is set to open this fall. “It’s been busy,” he confirms during a Zoom call from his home in Antwerp.

The Mercer Street location marks the end of what Van Noten called a “15-year” search for the perfect New York spot. The hunt began long before Barneys, his original U.S. stockist, closed for good in 2020—but the wait was worth it. “The location is really good,” he says. The store shares the block with Alaïa, Balenciaga, Marni, and Khaite. “And the space itself is quite special. It’s narrow—just six meters wide—but 30 meters deep and seven meters high. The basement has great height too, which is where we’ll place menswear. An opportunity like this? We said, ‘Okay, let’s go for it.'”

Beyond collaborating with the in-house team—including Julian Klausner, his former right-hand and the brand’s new creative director, who made his runway debut in early March—Van Noten personally curated antiques for the store with his husband, Patrick Vangheluwe, “to create the mix we love.” (He’s also still involved in the company’s beauty projects.)

“Every store has to be special,” he explains. “We don’t have a formula we apply to every city. We really listen to the building and the place we’re in.” The London store on Hanover Square occupies a former bank. “It’s quite English,” with works by David Hockney and Tracey Emin on the walls. For New York, Van Noten chose the word “monumental.” “It feels more like a theater.” Visitors will find 16th-century French and English paintings, a pair of torchères from the late Iris Apfel’s collection, and 1960s Italian tables. Most striking, he promises, are pieces by Belgian artist Ben Storms. “He works with marble and crushed aluminum—absolutely stunning.” At the back of the space, a gold-leafed wall evokes memories of his final runway show last June, where the catwalk was silver-leafed. “It’s very daring,” says Van Noten.

Five years ago, during the first Covid summer, he opened his Los Angeles store. “We were brave to do it mid-pandemic, but it worked out well,” he recalls. Like the La Cienega location—which featured an archive resale section, a vinyl room, and an exhibition space—his personal touch is evident in the new Mercer store. “I think you can clearly see my involvement. I love playing with that. It’s different ways of expressing my aesthetic.””I really like to play with that. I think it’s different ways of exploring my aesthetic.”

Photo: Tijs Vervecken / Courtesy of Dries Van Noten

The news of the Mercer Street opening was met with excitement at the Vogue offices. Another intriguing hint came from Van Noten: “We have another project, which Patrick and I are working hard on now, and we hope to share more about it later this year.” A PR representative clarified that this is entirely separate from the Dries Van Noten brand. Stay tuned.

The interior of the Hanover Square store in London.
Photo: Tijs Vervecken / Courtesy of Dries Van Noten