Succession is a huge issue in fashion this week with Alberta Ferretti stepping down from her role and Dries Van Noten’s first show without Dries Van Noten. With Dries present in the front row the bow was taken by more than a dozen staff from the design team after they had delivered a much anticipated but slightly lackluster collection. It was all there – the colors, the embroidery, the prints, the mannish coats and suits, the industrial location but it was missing cool and an editing hand. Everything felt a bit too much according to the Van Noten playbook and no clear idea what this collection can be without its founder was there. Van Noten is a cult brand and every little detail matters. Let’s compare it to Helmut Lang who has the same cultish following and never really found traction after his departure. For example the show music was promising but turned into a phonetic mishmash. Dries always picked a track that unfolded like a ten minute remix. And he adjusted the looks to the crescendo of the music. This did not happen here. But then it does not need to happen. It’s a new beginning and it was in dire need of a notion where this brand could head out of the hands of a controlling founder. Van Noten always perfectly bridged street cool with opera grandeur. Yesterday’s show was a perfectly judged outing of mostly daywear which lacked surprise and energy.