the tailor, the magpie, the foodie

Reasons to love the winner of last night's Council of Fashion Designer of America's International Award, Belgian designer Dries Van Noten:

*He has a funny name. It's pronounced Dr-ee-z Van No-ten.

*He was apart of gang of avant garde Belgian designers known as the Antwerp Six that staged their own shows during London Fashion Week in 1988 to garner attention for the emerging and progressive talent coming out of their native country.

*His Fall 2006 menswear collection was a sleek and dapper homage to Brian Ferry set under a canopy of upturned umbrellas.

*"I just wanted to give the audience a bouquet of flowers."--Van Noten, on why he often chooses floral prints. He has a 60 acre estate outside of Antwerp, where he tends to his own garden.

*For his 50th fashion show, Van Noten hosted a three course formal dinner at an abandoned factory 40 minutes outside of Paris for 500 guests at a table that stretched 490 feet long. And what was for desert? Fashion, of course.

*He's remained truly independent over the past two decades, never advertising his brand and continues to be entirely self-financed.