Dries Van Noten’s gardens of delights

For decades, Belgian designer Dries Van Noten has created sumptuous, singular fashion. In an age of tattered luxury, he has also become an icon — of independence, idiosyncrasy and, above all, the enduring power of creative freedom.

For decades, Belgian designer Dries Van Noten has created sumptuous, singular fashion. In an age of tattered luxury, he has also become an icon — of independence, idiosyncrasy and, above all, the enduring power of creative freedom, writes Hanya Yanagihara.

IN BELGIUM, in the meadows outside Antwerp, in a garden stalky with delphiniums, the fashion designer Dries Van Noten is considering a rose.