For his debut menswear collection at Dries Van Noten, Julian Klausner presented 62 looks in an airy, skylit garage space, set to the soundtrack of Lou Reed. The pressure must have been immense. Menswear was Dries’ foundation, the bedrock of the brand long before it expanded into womenswear. And yet, Klausner made it all look effortless.

From the first looks, which all featured a pop of red, from shoes and socks, to red sports bags and embroidered tabards, the collection was as vivid as it was wearable. There were floral motifs aplenty (naturally!) on sequin-encrusted bomber jackets, wide-collared opera coats and summery wraparound paréos. The looks here flitted between formal and casual, often on the same body. There were even cummerbunds, worn casually! Let’s hope that’s a forthcoming trend…

In the show notes, Klausner specifically asked the questions: “What is formal? What is casual? How do these feel?” These are questions many designers are asking, yet few have articulated an answer as elegantly, or as convincingly, as Klausner.