By Samantha Critchell

AP Fashion Writer, New York

Belgium's Dries Van Noten is one those designers, and while his name may not be familiar yet, fashion insiders have decided it should be. Van Noten's clothes come in wearable, almost practical silhouettes, but in fabrics so rich and interesting that the look is anything but boring.

Last month, the Council of Fashion Designers of America bestowed upon him its award for the best international designer of the year, and top-tier retailers such as Neiman Marcus are excited about both his current and fall collections.

"He quietly moves forward and he's so influential. Everyone pays attention to what he's doing," says Neiman's fashion director Ken Downing of Van Noten.

The spring-summer trend of painterly florals came straight from the designer's runway, Downing declares. "He's inspiring so many people, whether it's conscious or subconscious."

Downing adds: "He's all about personal style: Five women can wear Dries Van Noten and you'll see five women who look totally different."

In person, Van Noten looks more like a banker or an attorney from a small town - maybe even a bygone era. His graying hair is cut short and neat and, on this day at the Carlyle Hotel restaurant, he wears a gray pinstripe suit and blue button-down shirt with his white T-shirt peeking out and no tie.

He says he tries to use the most modern technology - when it's called for - yet retreat to a life in Belgium's countryside surrounded by flowers when he can. "You need both to live well," he says softly.

When CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg first tried to reach Van Noten by telephone this spring to tell him he'd won the group's award, she had trouble reaching him, further cementing his image as an independent artist in an increasingly corporate fashion world.