Dries Van Noten finds a new chapter in Venice, where fashion design and art come together
A wonder through fashion maestro Dries Van Noten’s foundation in Venice’s Palazzo Pisani Moretta.
Every year, millions of people come to Venice to admire its crumbling palazzos, with their spiral staircases, Moorish arches and intricate mosaics. Though acknowledged as treasures, their upkeep is often too much for the city to handle. For a certain class of creatives and entrepreneurs, however, they offer an appealing challenge. Sculptor Anish Kapoor and investor Nicolas Berggruen, for example, have marked new stages in their lives with revamps of Venetian palaces. It’s a club that retired fashion designer Dries Van Noten has joined with the opening of his own foundation in Palazzo Pisani Moretta, a 15th-century residence with mullioned windows and frescoes.
Best known for his eponymous fashion brand, Van Noten was on an extended holiday in Venice when he was invited to the palazzo. “The moment that we entered, everything changed,” he says, recalling the gothic windows, Murano-glass chandeliers and rococo furnishings. “The history, the craftsmanship, the way that every detail had been considered – it felt as though the building itself suggested the direction that we should take.”
The designer already had plans to set up a foundation with his partner, Patrick Vangheluwe. The couple initially envisaged basing it in a neutral, contemporary space. But their encounter with the palazzo and its owners, the Sammartinis, led to a change of direction. Having used the building as a family home for decades, the owners were keen to pass it on to someone who would open it up to the public as a cultural institution, rather than turning it into another hotel. This made Van Noten and Vangheluwe its ideal new custodians. “Venice became meaningful to us almost by chance,” says Van Noten.
The Fondazione Dries Van Noten’s inaugural presentation, which opened in April and runs until October, showcases more than 200 pieces from the worlds of fashion, design and art. The curation also demonstrates the timeless qualities of the palazzo that charmed Van Noten and those who came before him. “The Fondazione allows me to explore ideas on a scale and with a freedom that the rhythm of fashion never fully permitted,” says Van Noten. “It’s a space where different disciplines meet, influence and resonate with each other, without the pressures of seasons or markets.”
fondazionedriesvannoten.org
