Fondazione Dries Van Noten

A palace on the Grand Canal.

The palace was built towards the end of the 15th century. Its Venetian Gothic façade faces the canal; inside, the rich decoration dates largely from the 18th century, when Chiara Pisani transformed the interiors. Giambattista Tiepolo and Jacopo Guarana were among the artists who worked here.

Dries Van Noten and Patrick Vangheluwe bought the palace in 2025. They established a foundation here devoted to craftsmanship and to bringing the arts together. Its first exhibition opened on 25 April 2026. Here, Dries places fashion, art and design side by side.

The Only True Protest Is Beauty.

The title comes from Phil Ochs: the only true protest is beauty. Put together by Dries Van Noten and Geert Bruloot, the exhibition brings together more than 200 objects: clothes, jewellery, photographs, design, ceramics and glass. It runs until 4 October 2026.

In our photographs, clothes stand among chandeliers and heavy curtains, with painted walls behind the artworks. In many of the pictures, we find ourselves looking as much at the room as at what is on display.

White, feathers and forms that seem to grow.

In this room, the white Comme des Garçons creation swells into large, irregular shapes. Beside it stands a Christian Lacroix dress made of feathers and satin. From a distance, both could be sculptures.

Beneath the glass dome is STIFLE by Kate MccGwire. White feathers gather into a compact form, folded in on itself. Up close, it looks much heavier than you would expect an object made of feathers to be.

A face in a dark room.

The large portrait in this photograph is Steven Shearer’s Teresa’s Trip, from 2024. The sleeping face, tilted towards the light, fills almost the entire frame. The artist’s gallery relates it to images of religious ecstasy. A black Comme des Garçons creation can also be seen on the left of our photograph.