The quasi-freezing warehouse space of the Cité de la Mode et du Design created a gloomy winter atmosphere for Dries Van Noten’s spring show. But by the time his first floral print appeared, it felt like a balmy garden setting. The show started with oversized men’s blazers and wide-leg pants, quickly followed by a mish-mash of those intense prints and patterns we’ve come to cherish. Iridescent fabrics mingled with washed denim, while heels came in unapologetically bright pastels.

“I mixed the forties for their elegance, the seventies for their offbeat aspect, and the nineties for their androgyny,” the Belgian designer said backstage. True to form, the show closed with über-feminine silky dresses—even in black!—that will no doubt satisfy women’s contradictory demands for casual yet elegant, comfortable yet sophisticated. In Dries, they can trust.