Dries Van Noten Refigures an Asian Story February 29, 2012, 12:27 pm Under the chandeliers of a gilded reception room at Hôtel de Ville, Dries Van Noten presented a calm, thoughtful, inviting collection that married his masculine tailoring with historical Asian prints. The richly colored prints - from Japan, China and Korea - appeared not only as silk skirts, blouses and languorous dresses, but also as angular panels on jackets and coats. Backstage, Mr. Van Noten explained that all the prints came from costumes in the collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The garments were photographed, and their shapes directly influenced how they appeared on his clothes. "It was quite spontaneous," he said of the idea. It was a simple, imaginative use of the past. And not to be overlooked in this solid collection were Mr. Van Noten's relaxed trouser suits, high-collared white cotton shirts; and outerwear with a nice, rugged, vaguely English attitude.