Viktor & Rolf (Q1864)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Dutch fashion house
- Viktor Rolf
- Viktor and Rolf
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Viktor & Rolf |
Dutch fashion house |
|
Statements
1993
founder
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren went down memory lane for today’s couture collection. Twenty-six year ago, their second couture collection’s silhouettes were based on the mushroom-cloud shape of an atomic bomb explosion. The models wore huge pillows around their neck. Shapes were “very graphic and exaggerated and absurd,” they said at a preview for this collection. “So this came to mind again for this season, after twenty-six years. We liked the idea of doing something absurd, that makes no sense. We wanted to take this concept further. On the one hand, the human body; on the other hand, the most abstract shapes. Couture as an exaggeration on abstract-ism.” The Dutch designers are masters in this field.Like kids playing with building blocks, they crafted garments based on geometric shapes, coming up with rectangular, triangular, spherical or trapezoid volumes. A dress encased the body in a box of fuchsia fabric (a bit like a bizarre soft coffin); the humongous shoulders of a miniskirt-suit’s jacket were suspended from a razor-shaped trapezoid; a multicolored short satin coat was assembled like a heap of 3D squares and rectangles; a pussy-bowed pleated shirt shaped like a huge balloon seemed to explode out of an off-the shoulder, cinched-waisted, double-breasted blazer in black-and-white cotton Vichy.The whole thing had a sort of virtuosic absurdity to it—something between Euclidean geometry seen through the eyes of a slightly dysfunctional gifted kid and the constructivist Bauhaus marionettes of Oskar Schlemmer’sTriadic Ballet. “Couture for us is a lab of experiments and inventions,” said V & R. They weren’t keen to elaborate much on the “why?”, and “what for?” or “who’s gonna wear it?” They just praised abstraction, which gives freedom of interpretation: “The viewer can let his mind wonder, make free associations. We like that. We offer something that is a starting point for someone’s own train of thought,” they said. The soundtrack was the epitome of abstraction too—a human voice pronouncing just incomprehensible syllables. You were thinking the voice was saying something, but it didn’t. Was it a metaphor for the absurd, nonsensical blabbering we’re surrounded by? Some sort of critique? The enigmatic Viktor & Rolf kept mum: “The meaning? We can construct it ourselves.”
26 June 2024
In three decades of memorable outings, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have made a point of leavening serious couture with contradiction, paradox, improv, and humor. Next month, more than 100 of their creations will be the subject of an exhibition at the Kunsthalle München in Munich, entitled “Viktor & Rolf: Fashion Statements.” Before today’s show, Coco Rocha gamely posed in a frothy confection from the fall 2016 collection. The duo described the presentation, titled Viktor&Rolf Scissorhands, as “couture but with a punk attitude.”“You know the feeling when you want one thing, but you also want the opposite? You’re torn between the two?” Snoeren asked, somewhat rhetorically, backstage before the show. “On the one hand it’s about wanting something elegant and polished, and on the other it’s raw, immediate, and direct.”On the racks, dresses in black tulle and nude satin corsetry sat waiting for their models, some with bodices half-slashed, tulle skirts cratered, midriffs peeled away. Though one skirt appeared randomly hulled out, Horsting explained that every layer was hand-sewn to the next, with each one taking two days, and so forth and so on for 300 hours until the skirt could be gouged out “like comic strip cutting.”On the runway, the show unfolded as seven capsules, each led by a finished couture look trailed by three experimental iterations in escalating states of dismemberment. On the one hand, it offered a meta commentary about fashion’s eternal cycle of endings and new beginnings. On the other, the clothes looked just plain terrific.
24 January 2024
Viktor & Rolf the brand is 30-years-old, and Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren’s one-of-a-kind surrealist and (sometimes rather disquieting) humorous take on fashion hasn’t dimmed in the least. Their ironical, topsy-turvy spirit is still intact, and today’s couture show was pure V&R tongue-in-cheek-conceptual entertainment. Instead of transforming their anniversary collection into a parade of humongous, ballooning dresses in the predictable shape of improbable Viktor & Rolf-ish birthday cakes, they went the opposite route. “We wanted the celebration to be about the tiniest garment there is—the bathing suit,” they said backstage.Artists are more often than not obsessive, single-minded types, and the Dutch designers aren’t exceptions. Variations on a theme and repetition is what their repertoire has often revolved around. Here the dissecting and reassembling potential of the bathing suit, be it a covered-up one piece or a skimpy bikini, was explored with meticulous focus.Rigid ruffles and rows of bows so high as to cover the ears sprouted straight up from the plunging necklines of high-cut bodysuits, or overflowed from necklines sneaking onto the legs; three differently sized bikinis were juxtaposed one on top of the other in a sort of “I’m seeing triple” tipsy effect. Catchphrases like NO or I WISH YOU WELL were extended from décolletages in 3D cubic type, an apparent replacement for sleeves.Yet the show stopping icing on the birthday cake were headless mannequins donning female black tailored tuxedos, hanging onto the models’ backs, or twisting in multiple formations around their bodies as if they were desperately calling for attention and didn’t want to let go. The meaning of all this? “It’s open to imagination,” answered the designers in unison. Obviously, the V&R repertoire doesn’t include the banality of logical, reasonable explanations.
5 July 2023
The couture shows—for those of us who don’t have six figures to spend on an exquisitely constructed outfit—are a discombobulating experience at the best of times. Add to that a stormy global economic and geopolitical backdrop, and a front-row seat at the one per cent’s playground can feel practically vertigo-inducing.Then came along Viktor & Rolf, who sent out a collection of gowns for their spring couture collection that skewered that topsy-turvy feeling—and then some. One model wore her ball gown upside down, her vision completely obscured by an inverted 3-D printed bodice and layers of tightly sewn powder-blue tulle (she was guided along the runway with instructions delivered over an earpiece). Others wore pretty pastel creations that were slightly askew, held by a frame on an angle just off their bodies, as though they were the result of a photoshopping error. A couple wore their debutante-style dresses perpendicular to their bodies, as though they’d taken some red-carpet style tips from Wednesday Addams. Somehow they kept their faces humorless as they processed through the gilded ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel in sparkling Louboutin kitten heels.The effect was giggle-inducing. “It’s an absurd take on the stereotype of a couture ballgown,” said Rolf Snoeren backstage, chuckling softly. “Which we translated for the 21st century,” added Viktor Horsting. Snoeren continued: “It comes from a love of glamour [but] like our perfume, we want it to be beautiful and we also want it to have a clever idea.” The first three dresses were classically-constructed, cupcake-shaped ball gowns, with corset waists embellished with crystals and bows and sugary pastel skirts. Then came a model in a beige corset, her peach dress bobbing along 10cm in front of her, held off her body with a hidden frame, and looking as though it were being ferried along by the mice inCinderella. “We like the idea to first give the impression of, ‘Ahhhhhh, it’s going to be all very lovely.’ And then: Oops!” said Snoeren.There was a comment here about internet culture and how consuming visuals on our phones—snapping photographs and immediately being able to invert them, using filters to distort and enhance our silhouettes and bone structure—has warped our sense of reality. “There is a disconnect between what we see, and the physicality of the product,” said Snoeren. Then there is the internet’s context-less state, where one scroll can take you from a fashion show to a mass shooting.
“The information that comes at us, going from making banana cake to so many people being killed in Ukraine,” said Snoeren. “It’s: What kind of world are we living in? It’s absurd,” said Horsting. Luckily, the duo found some fun in the incongruity. As a viral moment that wasn’t shot through with controversy, it was a masterclass.
26 January 2023
Last season, after Viktor & Rolf showed a collection where the neckline of each look was dramatically hoicked up to the earlobes in a style inspired by the cult 1922 vampire movieNosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, Vogue Runway’s reporter Anders Christian Madsen wondered what might happen when that corset scaffolding inside the looks was removed. This season, the designers Rolf Snoeren and Viktor Horsting proposed an answer: The first half of their show featured the same structured, high collars with looks that appeared to be levitating above the wearer’s shoulders; the second half showed them collapsed, draping the models in swathes of ruffles. “It’s a completely different attitude,” said Snoeren backstage. “First it’s very strict, very rigorous, then the attitude switches to something softer, more relaxed.”What made this idea so neat was the presence of the designers on the catwalk, visibly manipulating the clothes in front of the audience. In a move reminiscent of theirfall 1999 Russian Doll collection, where the model Maggie Rizer rotated on a circular platform as they dressed her in a succession of garments, the Dutch duo appeared halfway through the show, calmly striding onto the runway pushing a garment rack, and proceeded to get creative.Addressing a model who was clad in a high-neck pinstripe shirt, wide-neck navy blazer, coat, long gray trousers, and platforms, they began to undress her. First, they removed her sunglasses. Next, they disconnected the flocked aluminum structure that had kept her jacket elevated above her ears. Then, they pulled at drawstring cords inside the lining of both her coat and jacket to cause the fabric to bunch up, altering the silhouette. As the model’s platform heels were removed and replaced with pointed flats, with the trouser hems gently pooling around the ankles, one was struck by the somewhat tender notion of the human hands that go into producing couture—that and the transient nature of trends that race along in keeping with fashion’s sometimes ludicrous moods. The second half of the collection featured exactly the same pinstripe suits, tuxedo jackets, and voluminous blouses of the first, but their bravado had deflated into something more laid-back.There was a comment in here, perhaps, about toxic masculinity. “We liked the idea of men’s clothes that don’t fit, a masculinity that doesn’t fit,” elaborated Snoeren. “And then we change it to make it fit,” added Horsting.
At a time when Britain’s prime minister is battling to save his scandal-ridden premiership, ricocheting between disasters and cabinet resignations in a rumpled suit that is cut too tight in some places and hangs awkwardly in others, it felt like a sharp piece of political commentary. And even if your chancellor and health minister haven’t both just resigned, leaving you clinging on to power, the idea of amorphous clothing certainly appeals. If only fresh starts in politics were activated as simply as pulling a drawstring.
6 July 2022
“Your wife has a beautiful neck….” The words are Nosferatu’s as quoted on an intertitle inA Symphony of Horrorfrom 1922. And although Viktor & Rolf’s collection was inspired by the vampire himself, the wife in question may have benefitted from one of their haute couture creations this season. Constructing on corsets worn under each look, the designers raised the shoulders of their silhouette way above the neck, achieving an effect similar to the iconic image of Dracula as imagined by Old Hollywood.“Dracula is such a powerful symbol of the fear of change in society. In Old Hollywood movies you have the archetypal scary image of the person in the doorway. This made us think of a shoulder line that we developed almost 30 years ago, in our very, very first collection for the contest in Hyères in 1993,” Rolf Snoeren explained. They won that competition with a collection founded in gestures related to the idea of hiding. Through a present-day lens, Snoeren said, “it’s a little bit the opposite—going out into the world again but cautiously.”It’s been two years since Viktor & Rolf last hit a runway, and their show bore evidence of an appetite for the fun Fashion Week used to deliver. Rather than intellectualizing their pop-cultural reference, they amplified it with horror music, ghoulish makeup, and vampiric fingernails, which they wore for their bow behind a shadow screen, gesticulating like Willem Dafoe’s impersonation of Count Orlok inThe Shadow of the Vampire. Throw in a vicious Vincent Price laugh, and it would have had all the trimmings of a themed runway show in the 1990s.The designers’ Uncle Fester exercise was formidably executed in everything from trench coats to blazers, tuxedo jackets, shirts, and dresses. When they applied the raised-shoulder effect to a sleeveless top, you could see the skeleton of the corset inside—a nice detail. Creating on an extreme shoulder line also meant extreme garment proportions. Everything was stretched out and elongated to degrees of design expertise that—upon reflection—cut a serious contrast to the lightheartedness of the show.You couldn’t help but wonder what these clothes looked like in their collapsed form, without the corset structures to hold them—none of which were attached to the garments. “You can wear them without,” Viktor Horsting said, explaining how the elongated armhole created a slouchy silhouette, which still retained its narrow shape. Sounds perfectly weird. Maybe it’s an idea for a sequel.
26 January 2022
As reticent as Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are, they indubitably know something that the rest of us don’t—or they frame the expected in ways that make us reconsider it. That is certainly the case with their latest collection, which at first glance, might seem to tread familiar ground, with coat shapes resembling those from their Russian doll collection for fall 1999, and slogan sashes from spring 2019. The pair carried over their interest in jeweled embellishments here, though in different dimensions and styles; and in keeping with their dedication to reducing waste, many of the pieces are patchworked—as are the concepts behind the garments. As Snoeren put it, “there’s all kinds of elements from all different worlds.”The first theme that comes across is a royal one, and, with continuing buzz aroundThe Crownand the Oprah interview, it’s quite topical. What the designers couldn’t have known is thatYoung Royalsmania would start to heat up at almost the exact time they presented their collection. Many tropes are referenced in the lineup, ranging from fairy tales to cartoons. There are medieval-style brocades and an “ermine” cape. A raffia “fur” is a fantastic take on high/low. Tiaras and crowns of plastic are a clue that everything is not what it seems, which is confirmed, without subtlety, with the queen-themed sashes. “We wanted everything to be bigger than life,” noted Horsting. “It’s like a play on queens or royals. We wanted to be uplifting and joyful and—fun is not the right word—but colorful, sparkling, positive. You are your own creation.”At the same time that the designers were celebrating self-actualization, they were also thinking about structures and hierarchies, likening those of royals to the fashion system with its ranked seating charts. However quickly those seat assignments change as new courtiers are chosen and dismissed, the system pushes forward. “The show must go, always go on,” remarked Snorern.And so he brought us to the heart of what this collection explored, which is the question of our digital age: What is real? Image can align with the true self—or not, as when a person, like a royal or a celebrity, has a public persona. With deep fakes entering the picture, concepts of truth will only be more complicated. Horsting and Snoeren aren’t offering solutions to the conundrum, either, having chosen, in a “la reine est mort, vive la reine” kind of manner, to stage a physical exhibition of real clothes in Paris on mannequins, i.e. fakes.
Touché.
7 July 2021
Fashion is filled with a sense of spring awakening. It seems everyone wants to spread their wings and mix and mingle. Even self-proclaimed introverts Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are in the mood to party: they describe their latest collection as a “couture rave.”At the same time that this lineup projects positive, forward energy, it rejects negative thinking and challenges ideas of what couture can be. Their last collection, notes Snoeren, was a reaction to the global health crisis. “For this season, we were in the mood for something obviously opposite, something that’s...basically an escape into a party atmosphere.”“We noticed we were doomscrolling,” adds Horsting, “and we felt we needed, as creators, to offer something lighthearted and something with a lot of energy and power.”The collection video was shot in a Cold War munitions factory, which has been converted into a contemporary art space. Much to Horsting’s delight, it retains the appearance of “a derelict factory”—with the exception of the golden installation made of melted ammunition in the background, a transformation that is in line with the designers’ penchant for sartorial alchemy.Known for their conceptualism, the Dutch duo took a more instinctual approach this season, making youth and upcycling their main themes. Though the silhouettes were repetitive—bra top and formal skirt and bra top and panty—the pieces themselves were diverse. Taking an “anything goes” approach, they used elements of their own archive, bits of jewelry, sweatshirts, and mere scraps of fabric to create new looks.“For us it created a tension of things that just don’t belong together,” notes Snoeren. “It was very conscious to put something almost crafty, handmade, almost do-it-yourself in spirit, opposite a very refined couture technique,” he continues. Although couture is made by hand, it has rarely been associated with extreme youth, nor a “made it myself” vibe. Mainly composed of separates, this collection has a bit of a circus air about it as well as a touch of teenage-bedroom-style eclecticism, as such that it pushes against traditional ideas of what couture can, or should, be.Grand concepts aside, the possibilities suggested by a tiered, open-front, apron-like skirt that might be worn over lingerie as shown, or alternatively on top of a maillot or pants, was intriguing.
A beautiful bow-festooned harlequin cape, which acted a bit like the collection’s big top and had continuity with collections past, was really something to rave about.
27 January 2021
Even when life felt relatively normal, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren were conceiving collections that often went viral. With this latest undertaking, they cleverly addressed couture in the time of the coronavirus: three mini wardrobes comprised of a negligee, dressing gown, and coat meant to represent pandemic-related emotional states.Essentially, doom and gloom give way to a wave of mixed feelings that resolve in expressions of unconditional love. Meanwhile, each of the nine elaborate creations is a meme in the making. Think lace-incrusted emojis; sparkly, socially distanced spikes; a halo of hearts, and more.On a video call ahead of their digital debut—an amusing yet informative film that riffs on bygone salon-style shows—they said they were initially unsure of the direction to take. “The situation has been so terrible, it made [us] wonder, Are we allowed to do this?” said Snoeren. After discussions with their team, they decided that doing nothing was not an option, but that whatever they did, “had to be meaningful,” said Horsting.In previous seasons, the designers had already been espousing a more sustainable approach to fabric sourcing. This time, they worked with local suppliers around Amsterdam and drew from their own fabric stock. If they reached garish territory with the voluminous pink robe festooned with sashes, bows down one arm, canary yellow quilting, and a braid, they treated the negligees with lovely lightness. As for the coats designed for social distancing, the irony is that Horsting and Snoeren have always played around with unwieldy volumes—now, they were simply giving them new relevance. Cue the film’s campy voiceover (recorded by singer Mika) guaranteeing that “you will remain in your own safe zone while venturing out into the world.” This was Viktor & Rolf at its best: bringing relatable messaging to their avant-garde vision, putting a pop spin on their more conceptual silhouettes.Wit and swelling orchestral music aside, the descriptive narration also proved an effective hack to capturing couture through a screen, directing us to details that we might have otherwise missed. It seemed the designers were also making a meta statement on fashion shows within these empty salons—how removed we are from that original, intimate format. “For years, we have been saying to each other that the fashion show is losing a bit of mystique,” explained Snoeren. “Having said that, if a show is done well…nothing compares to it.
”Compared to those that have taken a downright escapist approach this week, this Viktor & Rolf collection attempted to rise above reality with imagination and optimism. At one point, the voiceover offered this: “We all deserve to be loved, regardless of age, color, gender, race, religion, or sexuality.” Sure, a dress itself might not get us there, but at least Horsting and Snoeren were reminding us that fashion should always have something to say.
8 July 2020
Editor’s note: As we feel our way forward in this new world and way of presenting fashion, it seems a good time to revisit Viktor & Rolf’s poetic and perception-altering fall 2000 couture show. Their idea was to embellish clothes with bells. (Their jingles created the “soundtrack.”) Heard but not seen, the models progressed through a dense fog, gradually emerging into sight at the end of the runway, creating a sense of mystery. Guests were alerted to their presence first through sound; the visuals followed.Forget the idea of immediate gratification—the designers instead gifted the audience with the thrill of anticipation, allowing guests time and space to create their own romantic fictions around the fantastic fashions. Here, 21 years later, the story of the collection—as told by Viktor Horsting.This show was presented on July 17, 2000 in Paris.[Looking back at our work], I’m always pleasantly surprised how there are certain themes that keep coming back and that are of interest to us, like the theme of the immaterial; trying to express something beyond the garment itself, something that goes beyond a presentation of a look of the season. That’s a recurring theme. Then I also smile at how naive we were.We thought that if we started with couture, which is the top of the pyramid of fashion, the pinnacle, we could always go down, but it would be much more difficult the other way around. Obviously, we didn’t answer to any of the requirements of the Chambre [Syndicale de la Haute Couture] at the time, and still they allowed us on the calendar. It was partly idealistic reasoning starting at the top, and also it was something that we were somehow able to pull off. We did not have the resources to do a ready-to-wear show and ready-to-wear collection, with the production and the distribution and all of that. We didn’t have that, so we thought, Okay, let’s start in couture and then take it from there.We always say Paris is our fashion home, but we live and work outside of Paris, which at a very early stage we realized was fine for us. We’ve always liked to be with one foot in the system and one foot out of it because it’s kind of nice to have a bit of space to retreat and reflect. But it was also something that just happened; it’s just how life unfolded. Amsterdam is a great place to live; it’s also true that it has been very important for us to show in Paris, and Paris has always been great for us in that sense.
5 July 2020
Viktor & Rolf could not host a presentation this season due to the coronavirus pandemic. In these extenuating circumstances, Vogue Runway has made an exception to its policy and is writing about this collection via photos and remote interviews.Just as fashion designers are often asked who “their woman” is, bridal designers have historically designed with a specific bride in mind. Those archetypes are falling away as individuality and personal style replace old-school notions of trends, and Rolf Snoeren of Viktor & Rolf was happy to report that they don’t just have one type of bride anymore. “It’s pretty amazing to see how many different women are getting married in our dresses,” Snoeren said on a recent FaceTime call. “For us, it’s important to have really diverse silhouettes [in each collection], from empire waist to ballgowns to jumpsuits, so we can cater to different women with different needs.”The surprise for spring 2021 was the new emphasis on softer, freer silhouettes, like an A-line gown with an abbreviated train or a strapless, away-from-the-body dress with a knotted bodice. A single-sleeve ivory caftan was the standout, unadorned but for a small bow at the neckline. Those drapey, unstructured lines aren’t the norm chez V&R; the duo’s signatures are more sculptural, typically in the form of molded ball skirts, folded ruffles, 3-D flowers, and “sugary” embellishments, as Snoeren called them. “We’ve struggled a bit with the fluid [silhouettes], but for some women, they’re a must,” he said. V&R purists won’t be lacking for options either; a satin strapless gown came with a new twist on the duo’s sliced-skirt detail; trimmed with flower petals, it was cut away to reveal soft, airy tulle underneath.
17 April 2020
Starting sometime in 2016, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren began using their own fabric leftovers to create new haute couture creations. With this inventory almost all used up, they resorted to an archive of swatches sent to them by suppliers that they had never thrown away. But how to turn all those small samples into anything approximating a collection? The answer: patchwork—a technique more associated with humble craft and DIY clothes-making than haute couture.This youthful lineup consisted of elaborate dresses that Horsting described as “sweetness combined with fierceness.” The designers seemed less concerned about concept and more committed to “do more with less” thinking. They revisited their vaguely historical silhouettes with fresh collages of motifs and materials, and paired them with kooky foil hats and cute jelly shoes (in vegan recyclable plastic by Brazilian brand Melissa). There were micro floral maxi styles with patchwork bows and brocade patchwork mini styles with ornate capes. There were monochromatic patchworks of luxurious black-and-white lace and quilt-like compositions in vibrant colors. Dimensional crochet and tulle festooned and fixed the swatches in place, putting the work into patchwork.If the designers drew inspiration from Laura Ingalls Wilder and Holly Hobbie, they were also putting a tougher (but not too tough) generational spin on these dated prairie girl and doll-like tropes. Models were inked with face and neck tattoos like Post Malone and Lil Wayne, only theirs readdreamorlove. Platitudes likeSuccess is not final;failure is not fatal; andI have a dreamspanned their arms. It would take a certain kind of ingenue to wear face tattoos on the red carpet; but given the ever-growing interest in upcycling and virtue signaling, the dresses send the right kind of message.
22 January 2020
With destination weddings on the rise, the concept of designing for “seasons” in bridal feels even less relevant than ready-to-wear. Plenty of women getting married this fall and winter are doing so in a tropical destination, where a heavy satin gown would feel all wrong. But Viktor & Rolf’s new Fall 2020 collection will tempt even the beach-loving bride to consider a New York or Aspen wedding. Inspired by snow and ice, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren tweaked familiar textures and details in “crystalized” form. Instead of tweed, for instance, a short-sleeve jacket was covered in strips of crystals and three-dimensional, icicle-shaped white beads. It had a tactile, frosted quality, but also registered simply as a fun and festive embellishment. The beading appeared elsewhere as dense trims, which the V&R team referred to as “crystal fur.” Another mini with intricate beading and large pearls looked like an actual snowflake; it would make the ideal reception dress for a winter bash.Brides come to Viktor & Rolf for those kinds of inventive embellishments, but there’s also demand for its simple and sculptural dresses. You can’t discount the timeless appeal of the draped satin ballgowns, which came with giant bows and folded rosettes. The duo’s sleek, vaguely retro looks are popular too: Here, there was a nod to the ’60s in the mock-neck minidress as well as the high-low shirtdress, styled with a mod—and of-the-moment—satin headband.
4 October 2019
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren insist they never expected such a viral response to last season’s collection, titled Fashion Statements, never mind that it was inspired by—and wholly suited to—social media. But then how to top all those language memes in tiers of tulle? “We try to stay away from expectations,” Snoeren said backstage. Still, something about the final dress back in January—its message ofI want a better world—seemed to trigger the direction of today’s show.Calling the collection Spiritual Glamour, the designers noted how they were playing into the original definition of glamour as casting a spell. “Our spell is to transform the feeling of doom about our environment into positive action,” said Horsting. To do so, they enlisted help, marking their first time collaborating so directly with someone else. Claudy Jongstra has spent decades developing her own textiles—raising rare Drenthe Heath sheep and producing the botanical pigments—from a farm near the northern Netherlands village of Húns. More recently, she headed up a research group to re-create Burgundian Black, ostensibly the holy grail of dyes used during the Renaissance (black being associated with status and fashion even back then).The process involves magical-sounding ingredients like woad and madder, and the result, a dense black felt, is what the duo used throughout the lineup but especially for the night-sky scenes on coats and dresses worn by models who were either punklike or witchlike but not the least bit irreverent.As Jongstra’s wilder materials became more and more integrated into V&R’s dramatic shapes, the designs turned increasingly colorful—shifting from moonscapes with bats into sunrises with flowers and butterflies. Dresses featured intricate patchworks of vintage-sourced fabrics as well as reconstituted needle-punched textiles, so that the effect fell somewhere between quilt and Klimt.Whereas the previous collection was unapologetically camp—of course, earning its place in the Costume Institute’s current exhibition—this one had pagan overtones. The approach was so methodical, though, that even the DIY, craft intentions—complete with embroidery rings as embellishment—were outshined by the technical finesse. And whereas the designers could have obviously been more explicit, they opted to stay subtle, more romantic, as Snoeren put it.
So do Snoeren and Horsting make a stronger impact when they’re ironic versus earnest? Without the backstory, the designs had interest, but as a specific Kate Bush–goes–glam vision. Interestingly, though, if this collection seemed like the antithesis of Iris van Herpen’s high-tech engineering and futuristic fabrics, both treat couture like a laboratory through which they arrive at new ideas manifested as quasi-historical dress. “The appeal for us is that we can work with nature, and Claudy is changing the way people think about production,” said Snoeren. Here’s hoping they have more spells in them yet.
3 July 2019
Only at Viktor & Rolf is an ivory Lurex jumpsuit considered low-key. What you’re more likely to find in Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren’s bridal showroom is a statement-making gown in the spirit of their Paris couture shows, often with an asymmetrical ball skirt, giant floral appliqués, or crystal embellishments. Their signature sliced-tulle gowns were absent from the Spring 2020 lineup, and their focus shifted to slightly cleaner silhouettes with architectural details. Brides looking for something classic—but still major—will gravitate toward the opening look, a ball gown with an enormous rose folded at the hip, and the off-the-shoulder number with a huge, deconstructed bow in the back, like a bustle.The more-relaxed looks, such as the aforementioned jumpsuit and an elongated satin blazer and pearl-studded trousers, will speak to the City Hall bride or the girl who doesn’t quite feel like herself in a satin gown. That said, if she’s shopping at V&R, it’s more likely that she’ll pick up a few of those looks for the rehearsal dinner, the reception, or even the honeymoon, all of which now require a memorable (read: Instagram-worthy) white look.
15 April 2019
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren titled this collection Fashion Statements. “To what extent can you say something with clothing, literally,” they said backstage. Their studio had imagined 18 outstanding, outsize dresses constructed entirely in brightly hued tulle: some with puffed sleeves, others with tiered skirts, all very colorful and very voluminous. And, well, each creation spoke for itself.Who were these ingenues with their Rapunzel hair meant to embody?I am my own muse, said the one in solid green. Is fashion overrated?Less is more, replied the extra-wide one in gradient pink and blue. What is your position on climate change?Give a damn, declared the one in white trimmed in white and fluorescent green. Will you watch the Super Bowl?No, exclaimed the one in striped blue.Naturally, with their characteristic monotone, the designers said they were not imposing any meaning, inviting us to arrive at our own readings. One impression was that such exaggerated volumes, while familiar territory for Horsting and Snoeren, could be a visual metaphor for the noise of likes in the virtual world, where these language memes live (Snoeren seemed pleased with this idea). What’s more, there was no mistaking these creations for actual slogan T-shirts or variations on the infamous Melania Trump jacket. All the assorted typography and graphic design—the text as well as the eagle head, the skull, the candy hearts, and so forth—resulted from layers of additional tulle. Trite sentiments backed up by technical prowess.Altogether, the collection showcased Viktor & Rolf in the brand’s finest, sweet-meets-sinister form. As a fashion statement, it was ironic in attitude; historically inspired and Pop in presentation; detail obsessed and sophisticated in execution. The perfect formula, in other words, for the Costume Institute’s forthcoming exhibition on camp. Otherwise, several pieces could prove quite impactful on the red carpet, unwieldy shapes notwithstanding. The obvious choice:No photos, please.
24 January 2019
Today, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren revisited 25 looks to mark their quarter century together as designer artists. But in scrambling the chronology, they made clear from the start that they had no interest in nostalgia. Instead, their nonlinear trip down memory lane was fully whitewashed and sprinkled in Swarovski fairy dust. In one fell swoop—or more accurately, a few months of studio workmanship—they merged opposing moods, ever-shifting volumes, and conceptual messaging into a coherent and irrefutably impressive creative statement. “There have been all these different seasons with all these different vibes—some romantic, some violent—but now everything gels,” said Horsting. “It’s somehow refreshing.” Hence the title, “Immaculate Collection.”The show opened by taking us back to the “Blacklight” collection from Spring 1999. Meanwhile, the remake of their very first collection, for which they won the prize at the Festival d’Hyères in 1993, could be found at Look 21: a voluminous gown in tattered glory. Several creations, such as the tulle dress punctured with giant holes, were memory jogs back to their apex of experimentation—in couture but also in ready-to-wear, which ceased to exist since 2015. Apparently, upon informing the studio that they would be remaking it, painstakingly placing layer by layer of tulle, “there was a small revolution,” Snoeren half-joked. “We got a lot of pushback.”Having covered their nine most recent couture collections, it was easy to spot the transformation of their “Wearable Art” deconstructed painting, now a white canvas speckled with gold and silver paint; the jacket hopefully still made from studio leftovers; and a version of the Dutch wax-dyed cloth, now colorless, its flower motif outlined in studs. Longtime followers will all have their favorites: the shirts-on-shirts, the all-in-one bed dress (white linens really are the best!), the dimensional “No” emerging from a trench (perhaps more relevant now than in 2008).That’s the thing about looking back: Irony mellows and new readings emerge. To be sure, Viktor & Rolf will never be entirely free of gimmick, which is what has always made their approach polarizing. But the equalizing aspect of this exercise encourages the designs to be appreciated as a body of work—arguably even more so than their forthcoming Phaidon tome (copies were on view outside the show space) and their current exhibition at the Kunsthal Rotterdam.
To hear them tell it, this collection was not a self-assessment but a celebration. “It feels lighthearted, fun,” said Snoeren with his usual deadpan tone. By the end of the show, with all the models gathered on the glowing stage like some fabulously freakish beauty pageant, there was no reason to feel otherwise.
4 July 2018
As a label focused exclusively on couture, Viktor & Rolf doesn’t have to please everyone. But Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren’s new Spring 2019 bridal collection was surprisingly diverse, with a range of gowns (and jumpsuits) for brides of every taste: There were sleek columns alongside delightfully over-the-top ball gowns; dresses with long trains next to retro minis; bursts of laser-cut flowers or thick, minimalist bows.Viktor & Rolf purists will zero in on the designers’ signature sliced-tulle ball skirts and the gowns with oversize satin lilies, a motif borrowed from the Spring 2018 Couture show. For brides looking for something simpler, and maybe even a little ’60s-ish, there was a stunning cap-sleeved gown topped with a satin bow, a light coating of glass beads, and a crystal headband. Accessories were a clever new focus this season; other gowns were topped off with giant floral headpieces, appliquéd gloves, tulle masks, and even sheer socks.The lineup also included three minidresses, which have become the de rigueur choice for city hall weddings as well as quick-changes after lavish ceremonies. The vintage-loving girl will lean toward the trapeze-y, bow-backed mini covered in 3-D petals. As for the sculptural jumpsuit? It’s likely to appeal to the bride who spends the other 364 days of the year in pants.
17 April 2018
Like other names on the schedule this week, Viktor & Rolf put out a pretty collection. The dimensional daisies on a tunic, vibrant striped blazers, and graphically patterned column dresses made for a far more photogenic statement than last season’s flight jacket iterations topped with oversize doll heads. But as with all things proposed by Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, this prettiness came with a twist: Everything you see is made from technical duchesse satin. Call it their mono-material collection.Compared to what they’ve done previously, the concept doesn’t seem that remarkable—or even unprecedented; it wasn’t that long ago that they created a collection exclusively from Dutch wax textiles. But as the duo explained backstage, after several seasons of working with recycled fabrics indiscriminately, this self-imposed constraint addressed their interest in conscious design from a different direction; if they wanted to make a print or create an embroidery, they had to rethink the possibilities of the fabric. Put another way, they had to design their way out of the box.Glance at the looks afresh; do they seem different now that you know each petal of embroidery or aspect of openwork resulted from laser cutting or hand weaving, respectively? The use of color, for instance, wasn’t random; it helped draw attention to the workmanship. But why duchesse? “For us, it’s like an icon of couture,” said Snoeren, who clarified that it wasn’t real silk but a technical approximate from Japan which was cut on the bias. “I found the fabric more versatile than I had been expecting; I had imagined it to be stiff and cumbersome.”The irony of this undertaking—one that the great Charles Eames acknowledged when he said, “Design depends largely on constraints”—is that by curbing their tendency towards explosive volumes, surface detail, and drama, the duo produced some very attractive couture. And despite the Surrealist floral masks and curtained venue, the takeaway message was very real: We are all just different expressions of the same material.
24 January 2018
Viktor & Rolf’s newest fragrance, Bonbon, comes in a pink glass flacon shaped like a bow. Unlike other brands, where the fashion and beauty sides aren’t necessarily cohesive, V&R has a consistent, well-rounded vision. Bows are a signature across their fragrances, couture, new eveningwear capsule Viktor & Rolf Soir, and especially bridal. For Fall ’18, the duo’s third Mariage collection, ivory ball gowns came with giant cascading bows along the skirt; empire-waist minidresses had little bow belts; and a cross-back jumpsuit was topped with a sculptural bow at the bust. In heavyweight satin, the detail almost looked like frosting.Of course, most V&R brides have a bit of a sweet tooth. Other sugary extras included crystal “candy” embellishments, which traced the layers of a tiered tulle skirt, and thick plexiglass flowers coating the bust of a cap-sleeved gown. A minimalist bride will still have options here—the strapless column with a single bow at the back; a new off-the-shoulder playsuit with a train—but the most showstopping gowns were arguably the ones with ruched tulle hearts, which a member of the atelier described as “love clouds.”
9 October 2017
The casting represented quite the cross section: one had blue hair, another had a long pink side braid. A few had shaved heads. They were black, white, Asian, and a skin tone that might be best described as patchwork. There were also two boys. Meet theViktor & Rolfmascots who, to quote the program notes, “are rooting for a world that is creative, diverse, and eco-conscious.” In their highly modified MA-1 bomber jackets complete with bright orange lining and paired with jeans and Doc Martens, they were properly dressed for their role as “action dolls.” And until the 20th look—a floor-sweeping dress covered in geometric quilt motifs—the designers wanted you to believe that these bobbing, wide-eyed woolen heads were just an alternative way of showing off their characteristically voluminous permutations of an otherwise generic wardrobe standby.But then the march began anew; only this time, the models who had previously been peering through giant fake lips returned in the same outfits, now opened up and worn casually to expose artfully treated denim. In shedding their doll skin, they redirected attention back to the manipulations of the lustrous high-tech Japanese fabric—how it had been padded, pleated, ruffled, and folded over to achieve vaguely historical silhouettes. Bow shapes emerged through the construction, while front and back panels were compressed as though smocked. Up close, all the colorful tiling from humble recycled fabrics was as laudable as any application of fancy embroidery. And amid the variety, a single black-on-black look conjured up an altogether different persona—a Pixar film ringleader, if not a Soho gallerist.Whatever vibe you pick up from these dolls—kooky, cute, creepy, clever—the designers insisted their intention was anything but cynical. “We thought reality is so weird at the moment, why not show the surreal side of reality,” said Rolf Snoeren, with Viktor Horsting suggesting that “these [dolls] are fighting for a better world” via the patchwork symbolizing unity. As a call to action, couture dolls certainly aren’t the most obvious transmission medium. Unless, of course, they start canvasing in the streets, which seems like a wonderfully absurd thought. Much more likely is that these relatively wearable dresses, coats, and jeans will end up in women’s closets. The first bow-shaped bomber has already sold, head not included. And no, the designers didn’t go so far as to create dolls in their own likeness.
For all their studied whimsy, they keep things real.
5 July 2017
After debuting theirMariage collection last fall, Viktor & Rolf’s wedding business is apparently booming. We’d venture it’s because designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren’s gowns nail a tricky balance: Even the most avant-garde ones have a pure, stripped-back quality, so they’re exquisite, yet timeless; artful, but not overpowering.Fans of the high-concept label will notice a few of V&R’s signatures right away: handmade flowers, often the size of real blooms; layers upon layers of pleated tulle, sometimes sliced at an angle; and oversize satin bows. Brides looking for something grand but not princess-y will likely bookmark the halter gown covered in soft flowers and the shimmering, four-tiered dress in a material described as “flocked sequins.” From afar, it looked like it might be rough to the touch, but it was addictively soft, like ultra-fine velvet. Brides planning to buy a second, shorter dress for the reception, take note: The two bottom tiers on this one are removable.And while “minimal” is rarely a word used to describe Viktor & Rolf’s collections, brides in the mood for a sparer look will be surprised to find plenty of options here. A strapless gown with a soft, languid bow was gorgeous, and there were two jumpsuits: one with a single bow at the shoulder, and another with an abbreviated train and rows of tiny bows across the back. They were a far cry from Viktor & Rolf’s experimental creations, but it’s nice to see their take on a woman’s “real life” fare—even if it's just for one (very significant) day of her life.
22 April 2017
Last Fall Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren used materials from their own collections to conceive a new one, weaving their canon together and compressing years of creative output into a single dress or jacket. For Spring, they’ve taken apart old, damaged party dresses from as far back as the ’40s. The coral pocket in Look 16 came from a Courrèges dress, which can be spotted again in Looks 17 and 22. Read into the idea as they do, and all those disparate pieces in each look represent fragments of lives lived. The gold that encircles them borrows from Kintsugi, the Japanese practice of repairing pottery in a way that highlights the cracks. The title of the collection: Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Snoeren clarified, however, that their message of repair is meant to be hopeful, far-reaching even. “All the fragmented pieces can be put back together again.”Measured against their concepts from the near past, this one isn’t as wildly original; reassembly is already a thing, versus the sculptural cubist polo shirts or the wearable framed paintings. But with its layers of substance and sensitivity coexisting with beautiful manipulations of dégradé tulle, the idea represents the highest form of upcycling. In technical terms, the designers noted how this posed a considerably greater challenge than last season. “It was so spontaneous, it took us months to do,” said Horsting, noting the precision of the pieces as each look expanded, treelike.Seeing as three of the designs will be available for direct purchase from their website—a trial see-now-buy-now approach to couture, the question remains: Would you want to wear one? Perhaps the eccentricity would feel too overwhelming if you didn’t know the backstory. But since you do, none of the silhouettes aside from the supersize surrealist final gowns were fundamentally extreme, least of all the collaged pants. The black-ish dress with a green tulle neckline was realized with restraint. And for this march down memory lane, the Mary Janes (customized by Christian Louboutin) had timeless resonance.
25 January 2017
The news thatViktor & Rolfis debuting a full wedding collection is surely destined to set the hearts of a lot of fashionable brides-to-be into overdrive. What to expect? Impeccable, full tulle skirts minus a thick, clean slice out of the middle, à la Spring 2010? Given the designers’ taste for the subversively surrealist, it seemed a distinct possibility. But the inaugural season of Viktor & Rolf Mariage is perhaps surprisingly classic in its bent—and unmistakably very, very beautiful.Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren took up a couple of the house’s most well-known codes as their starting points. Among them: bows and blooms, used to lush effect. The former came to life in various shapes and sizes, running down the spine of a gorgeous full-skirted confection in bonded satin. Elsewhere, a floppy bow gave way to the cape of a one-shoulder column style. One sweet collared gown that had a skirt scattered with silk flowers could easily have taken its name from the pair’s much-loved eau, Flowerbomb. For the bride looking for something less sweeping and more kicky, a beaded A-line minidress that conjured up a little Catherine Deneuve inThe Umbrellas of Cherbourg, or a spruce, tailored ivory jumpsuit will fit the bill nicely. The lightness of hand was particularly striking here; not an overwrought number in the bunch, but all unflaggingly feminine. And as for that famously conceptual V&R flair? It was subtly palpable throughout, in pieces like a stunning strapless number that cascaded down to an asymmetrical tulle skirt.
10 October 2016
Imagine being the model forced to navigate theViktor & Rolfhaute couture runway swallowed up in a tower of Cubist polo shirts. Maybe she was relieved no one could see her face; maybe she felt like a work of art; maybe she wondered whether she was defining a disruptive fashion moment.As self-described “fashion artists,” Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren once again tested the limits of wearability while winking at the most radical art movement in recent history. Right from the first exit they revealed their intention, altering a simple white tennis dress by warping its hemline and tacking on a face that was unmistakably Cubist. Like a progression of Surrealist studies, the technical piqué creations turned more and more outrageous, boasting the types of details that would have made Apollinaire smile. The material volumes thrust outward in faceted relief, just as they spiraled, ruffled, and projected into space. They bowed to Braque’s collages and blew a kiss to Matisse’s cutouts and fluttering “little cubes.” Picasso was omnipresent: In some instances, the faces felt Dora Maar distorted; in others, the impression was feminine Françoise. Eyes and boobs became indistinguishable—a device Magritte toyed with repeatedly. Masklike breastplates channeled Cubism’s infatuation with primitive art. Clothes often get described as sculptural; Horsting and Snoeren aimed for sculptures (set atop Dr. Martens).But the collection would have amounted to little more than an exercise in well-executed appropriation were it not for the 3-D construction and impressive pattern work. Snoeren used the wordrigorousto describe the process and explained how the all-white lineup permitted a likeness to plaster or marble. The effect, however, was delightfully spontaneous. One intriguing constant in their designs is a particular emotional detachment. You can never be sure whether they are expressing a concept with extreme seriousness or reveling in the absurdity. This time, the recorded music was Radiohead’s “Creep” sung by a Belgian girls’ choir, as if giving voice to these disfigured forms. Yet among the 22 looks, the early dresses weren’t actually so Coucou Bazar. Nor were they entirely out of reach; a capsule collection of 100 tops and tunics will be available for order at Moda Operandi as of Saturday. Ready-to-wear–able art might just be a movement in the making.
27 January 2016
For spring, the deep-thinking Dutch conceptualists Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren threw off all somber constraints and held a wild dance party on their runway. Dizzy with prints, colors, flowers and ruffles, the show marked a wholly welcome fashion mood swing. Forget angst. Fun is the new avant-garde.It was almost as if the designers had invited their models to turn up wearing the sort of party dresses and dinner-dance outfits their mothers might have worn in the late ’60s, that beautiful time when they were teetering on the brink between being ladylike and freaking out. Lots of the dresses, with their tiered pleats and prints, looked straight out of the heyday of Zandra Rhodes and Bill Gibb. Others seemed to pay homage to vintage Chanel, with their black piping on pink, their satin bows and their proper black lace over nude chiffon.Viktor & Rolf avoided a flop into retro, though, by adding into the mix some clever replays of their own classics, such as the immaculate tuxedo tailoring and 3-D ruffles that have become their signature. The finale dress, entirely smothered in tulle roses, brought to mind their early, arty days of couture innovation. So what put them in the mood to party? “We’ve been working on our scent, and we wanted something with strong emotion, like being intoxicated by flowers,” Horsting says. “We wanted a softer, more feminine silhouette,” Snoeren adds, “and to loosen up the strict format of fashion shows.”
4 October 2002
One way to answer the increasingly hackneyed question of whether fashion qualifies as art is to determine whether it should hang on a wall or clothe a body. This afternoon, Viktor & Rolf complicated the issue by suggesting that the answer could be "both." In February, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren announced that they would cease their ready-to-wear businesses, explaining that they were eager to direct all efforts to the haute couture creation process. They named today's collection Wearable Art, which doesn't really do justice to the exhibition that unfolded within a gallery at the Palais de Tokyo. In a preview, they demonstrated the before and after of their fashion folly—how the integration of hinged frames on coats, dresses, and capes could transform the designs from outfits into artworks, from portrait collars to abstracted portraits.Whereas their peers have famously resisted the artist appellation—perhaps for fear of being labeled pretentious, or worse, trendy—Horsting and Snoeren seem continuously intrigued by exploring how formalism and absurdity combine to produce something unquestionably artistic. The designers primed the audience with a blue smock cloaked in what appeared to be a white canvas—frame and all—plus polished oxfords. Yet the toile was actually linen bonded to white crepe. And the fragments of imagery that began to materialize toward Look 8 were laser-cut jacquard enhanced with embroideries and appliqués to achieve the blobbed reliefs. The point, said Horsting and Snoeren, was to express action painting in a nonchalant way rather than identify their interpretation ofThe Threatened Swan(by Jan Asselijn, circa 1650). When a fleshy hand poked out of a warped canvas, a dress flooded through a frame, or a Dutch Golden Age tableau was insouciantly cinched at the waist, their conceptual perfectionism became worthy of its own movement.All the while the designers doubled as performance artists, methodically unfastening their works from a series of models and hanging them on the expansive white wall. The speed of the installation was impressive by any measure—from tiered gown to triptych within minutes. The final look represented the most extreme construction and most complete artwork—a Dutch still life on a moving model. Its crumpled, splattered, and suspended structure gave the impression of a masterpiece that had been rescued from a garbage compactor a few minutes too late.
Thankfully, these creations won't suffer a similar fate: Venerable art collector Han Nefkens has once again pledged a purchase, which he will subsequently donate to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Except that on display, the work can no longer be worn: It becomes art for art's sake. And as such, when the time comes, it will sell for more.
8 July 2015
For a swan song, it was entirely anticlimactic. In January, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren announced that they would be exiting the ready-to-wear business to focus on haute couture. And they made the decision with such finality that they presented their final collection without any grand good-bye gesture—heck, they were absent altogether. Instead, Jamie Bochert and Linn Arvidsson were photographed in a studio, alternating 23 looks against a dimly lit backdrop of draped gray felt, a house trademark. The press notes pointed out that the models were making their exit—a wry acknowledgement of the moment.Even accounting for all the cutaway panels and asymmetries, the clothes felt proper and minimally offbeat. Viktor & Rolf have taken their ready-to-wear to some far-off realms—whether in volume or concept; this time, their starting point seemed to be a collection that, when revisited years from now, will prove cringe-free. The material mix felt particularly timeless and true to the brand: crisp white poplin, gilded brocade, and a papery metallic fabric that looked like lustrous felt. Ascribing meaning to the crenellated edges might risk sentimentality; it's not as if the designers are closing down the atelier and packing up the pinking shears. Then again, the trails of fabric, whether or not they could be tacked up or removed completely, seemed an unmistakable metaphor.But go one layer deeper than the double-faced baby-doll dresses and modulated menswear, and you realized the collection still smacked of nonconformist Viktor & Rolf. Most designers would have taken an opportunity to express their feelings; these two could not have been more detached. So here's to them, for what it's worth.
7 March 2015
Every look in Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren's haute couture collection originated from the same three elements: a floral-print baby-doll dress with smocked detailing, a pair of flip-flops, and a straw hat. But the duo did not so much explore this country-gal typology as mutate, amplify, and explode it. So outsize was this feat—a slo-mo Flowerbomb, to borrow from their best-selling fragrance—that before the show even began, three dresses had been purchased by the art collector and patron Han Nefkens, who will donate them to Rotterdam's Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. To be sure, they will look better in an exhibition than on the red carpet.The designers worked with Vlisco, a Dutch company dating back to 1846 that specializes in batik-style, wax-dyed, and block-printed textiles widely popular in West and Central Africa. The opening version of the A-line dress, propped up by an exaggerated petticoat of silk organza, appeared like a coloring book—unfilled and outlined in inky blue. With this baseline established, each subsequent surrealist creation materialized into a hallucination of dimension and color: Flower cutouts with knotted stamens lifted from the fabric in voluminous clusters, while other flowers drifted off the dresses entirely, extending upward until they were supported by the headgear. Even the indigo outlines turned 3-D, dangling off the hems as embroidery. All the while, straw sheaves stretched the width of the runway thanks to carbon fiber reinforcements, forcing the models to sidestep past one another in a dance-like acknowledgment of this madcap moment.But rather than whimsy—Chanel's greenhouse of mechanical flowers and futuristic incrustations ticked that box yesterday—the designers steered the mood toward madness, scoring their somber parade with a remix of that haunting "la la la la" fromRosemary's Baby. They mentioned being struck by the "raw energy" of van Gogh's landscapes, citing his quote: "I put my heart and my soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process." Ah, yes, the struggle of any creative person well aware that memorable output does not result from apathy. But as the collection implied, one does not go from zero to unhinged in a heartbeat: It was the degrees in between that gave this undertaking such depth.
28 January 2015
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren used their Pre-Fall collection to reevaluate French dressing. But which iteration or era did they have in mind? Homing in on houndstooth suggested a nostalgic view, yet this was no New Look redux. Technical nylon satin gave the patterns soft, sturdy body; a "graphicvolant" (aka staggered frills) held its shape as peplums' pants remained roomy, not droopy. Variations on distorted tweed echoed the menswear; one, in printed patchwork, animated a flounced dress. Like the oversize acid yellow flower appliqués, it skewed noticeably younger than a coatdress in lace bonded atop neoprene, which fused ladylike and sport. This smart juxtaposition recurred throughout the collection, even as a styling device whereby sweetheart gilets appeared over turtlenecks. Some strong reworked basics, including an oversize ivory cable-knit sweater with an asymmetrical hemline and a well-tailored trench, offered versatility not always common to Viktor & Rolf. By that token, a one-shoulder dress with a cascading ruffle and exaggerated pleated placket seemed most reminiscent of the duo's earlier collections. You might even call it nostalgic.
26 January 2015
If you can expect anything from Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, it's that they will torque a trope and then continue to twist the result. For their latest Monsieur collection, the duo set their sights on humdrum tweed and digitized it so it looked, particularly from afar, like stylized television static. This gave a faint novelty to the suiting, which assumed a sportier image when paired with ski-stripe tops. As applied to some sweaters, the tweed grew enlarged and pixelated; others featured a reworked argyle, although this wasn't entirely evident until it was pointed out. Activewear hybrids made up another dominant theme and were often underscored (or, more accurately, underlayered) with electric green turtlenecks—think chemises fused with sweatshirt collars, streamlined reversible quilted coats, and a deconstructed blue evening jacket in a tech fabric with kangaroo pockets. It would be an ideal choice, perhaps, for any man who yearns to attend a black tie function in a hoodie. The final look, a tobacco-toned suit with corresponding tuxedo striping, won't be an easy sell at retail, but it might very well end up on a red carpet nonconformist. Still, there's a difference between permutations for the sake of permuting and permutations for the sake of perfecting. And in the end, you've got to wonder whether you're sporting clever tweaks or something less inspired.
22 January 2015
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren do not put a lot of stock in subtlety. Workout gear—and athleticism in general—was the guiding theme this season, and in case anyone missed the reference, "Physical" was playing on the soundtrack at the Résidence des Pays-Bas in two separate versions. You wouldn't have missed it, though—not with the collection's bike shorts, leggings, and low-slung wide-leg trousers with tracksuit-style stripes down the side. The color palette, veering from candy-colored to acid-toned, was likewise familiar from the gym, and sportif knit tanks and perforated materials a bit redolent of mesh. You could also pick up a certain abstracted muscularity and a kind of bursting energy in the sculpted tops and dresses, all of them gathered and poufed in varying asymmetric ways. That idea didn't need quite so much emphasis: Some of the more measured shapes were pleasing, but when Snoeren and Horsting went bigger and bolder, the result was a look that seemed thrown together willy-nilly. The duo should have attended further to the terrific ribbed knits here, like the simple white singlet with crisscrossed straps on one shoulder. A more subtle approach to the theme, yes, than a bouffant printed minidress that appeared to have been spray-painted at random in yellow, but more direct and more powerful in the end.
27 September 2014
In due time, many of the dresses shown throughout the Haute Couture collections will reappear on red carpets the world over. But you've got to hand it to Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, who considered how dresses might look if they were actually made from, well, red carpet. After conceiving second-skin, tattooed ballerina dresses last season, Viktor & Rolf came up with what they referred to as "a meditation on a contemporary obsession." They wondered whether it would be possible to coerce such a rigid material into wearable volumes, describing the knotting, wrapping, and tying techniques as "spontaneous gestures." The duo insisted that there was neither positive nor negative subtext—that the intention was "nonjudgmental." They admitted that the idea was, quite simply, "a big challenge."Where other designers begin with aesthetics, Viktor & Rolf often start with language, and in this way their collections can end up projecting the esoteric cleverness that comes naturally to graduating-year fashion students. This time, however, the painstaking execution—whether shaping the pile into sculpted pleats or cutting and placing the spots with such deliberate irregularity—helped balance concept and craft. Except, that is, when the concept proved too heavy in the physical sense; keeping the material above knee-length proved more compelling than a weighty cascade of carpet down the front of a long, vaguely Renaissance frock.The undone hair, au naturel makeup, and boyish rug-covered oxfords made clear that this was not a dissertation on Hollywood glamour. Instead, the leopard, zebra, and giraffe patterning—all hand-cut, shaved, and hand-applied to a pliant netting base—suggested primitive glamour (not to mention workmanship; these pieces took upwards of three hundred hours to complete). All those cape shapes, blankets bearing oversize bows, and sacks with well-placed arm slits are not destined for play-it-safe starlets; more likely they will be collected and, one day, exhibited. But as the models moseyed down thetapis rougerunway (supplied by Dutch manufacturer Desso) to be shot by fashion photographers rather than paparazzi, the realms folded in on each other and the medium became the message. All the while, a group of percussion students from Amsterdam provided a rhythmic soundscape from an upper balcony, clapping according to a syncopated composition by Steve Reich. They drew out the applause after the audience hurried off.
It felt appropriate, if not self-congratulatory.
8 July 2014
No one who attended Viktor & Rolf's Spring Couture presentation in January will forget the frizzy-haired ballerinas crisscrossing each other en pointe in second-skin dresses ornamented in tattoo-style ink. They lingered on the designers' minds, too—specifically, their style beyond the stage. It's unlikely that any dancer would don a swan as large as the one that appeared knitted and feathered as an appliqué on a sweatshirt for Resort. The large pattern of plumes was pretty—and marginally less literal. But the fluid skirts, softly ruffled blouses, and languid jumpsuit, all in pastel hues, seemed most in line with the collection's premise and reflected V&R's desire to add a fresh ease to their silhouettes. Likewise, a new, more compact "baby" version of their best-selling Bombette bag confirmed that they can appreciate the impact of a smaller statement. Still, a collision of color—almost fauvist in its vibrancy—and material patchwork (including glittery tulle) proved too tempting to resist, as did the comparatively sober black and white contrast that defined the final looks. It's tough to predict whether the crisp white shirts with exaggerated detailing will outperform the boxier dresses with their modified camouflage cloqué motif. They will both find their place in the broader Resort repertoire—just independently, not as a pas de deux.
24 June 2014
Take a close look at the floor in these images: It's a trompe l'oeil print of herringbone parquet covered in sports tape, as if Viktor & Rolf's monsieur had plans to play a game of pickup in hishôtel particulier.A volley between active and formal drove much of the Spring collection, which Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren presented privately in their Paris office. Often, both moods were explored within a single piece, such as drawstring pinstriped pants—half in nylon, half in cotton—which were roomy enough for a jog around the park. The strongest example: a cubist patchwork in paillettes and metallic-yarn embroidery on a standard-issue gray sweatshirt. That same pattern—the designers said it originated as camouflage—showed up on a denim jacket through a unique "discharge" process, and as a jacquard on one of V&R's nonconformist tuxedos. Unsurprisingly, they employed various visual tricks: A cotton dress shirt looked at first glance like business as usual until you noticed its stripes warping as if they surged with energy. A knit layer and T-shirt were integrated as a single piece so that it appeared as a finessed sport jersey.All of this scored V&R points for inspired design—and helped even out the few fouls, including a sweatshirt fronted with "2015" that already felt past its prime. Some of the casual suiting was unremarkable to a point that no one would mourn its absence: Snoeren and Horsting do much better when pushing the boundaries rather than playing by the rules. When it was suggested to the duo that Parisian men seem to be embracing athletics, both seemed surprised it has taken this long. "Where we are, guys are always into sports," said Horsting, referring to their base in Amsterdam. "It's kind of unusual not to be. It's such an important part of life for everyone." If that's really their mind-set, their next move should be actual activewear.
24 June 2014
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have long had a love affair with the surreal. Who could forget, for instance, theatrical looks like their cutaway gowns from the Spring 2010 collection, or the bed dress worn by Lily Cole in 2005? "Surreal" is a key part of the Viktor & Rolf DNA. Now, in the midst of a veritable Dada renaissance on the catwalk, the duo domesticated their surrealist bent and translated it into accessible looks featuring various trompe l'oeil effects. The collection was commercial, but not un-clever. Some of the strongest pieces were tops, coats, and dresses with cable knit applied on top—a slightly off look that worked, and was echoed in digital cable-knit prints. Elsewhere, the designers created schematic blazers, faux bustiers, and pleats, all of which were rendered in a purposefully sketchy way, with no intent to truly trick the eye. In a way, the collection was a gag on the surreal. And that was interesting, to be sure, but in the end the standouts of this show were the least conceptual pieces. The draped gray cashmere knits, for instance, were indisputable winners, and duster-length coats with applied cable knit appealed regardless of theoretical premise. "Realism" may be the new Viktor & Rolf métier.
28 February 2014
Ballerinas for Bonbon. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are launching a new perfume. The ad campaign for Bonbon was projected onto the backdrop at the end of their show tonight; it stars a seated Edita Vilkeviciute, her naked body painted in pink bows the same color and shape as the fragrance bottle, which sits perched on her lap.In a sweet little piece of cross-promotion, the designers cast members of the Dutch National Ballet as models, dressing them in leotard-tight dresses in nude shades of latex that looked remarkably like real skin, some of which were hand-painted with trompe l'oeil tattoos of ruffles, birds, or those bows. In a week when Schiaparelli was back on the Couture calendar after sixty-odd years, Horsting and Snoeren were the ones to embrace surrealism, draping folds of latex from tattooed bird's beaks and bows. One short-sleeve asymmetric-hem dress looked like a high-cut bodysuit with a skirt slung over just one hip, leaving the other exposed. What was rubber and what was flesh? You couldn't tell. It was the kind of head game that the Dutch duo has always loved.In recent years, the received wisdom on Couture was that it was basically just a promotional device for a brand's perfumes. Viktor & Rolf proved the cliché true. Our guess is they got some perverse pleasure out of that.
21 January 2014
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are coming off the opening of their first Viktor & Rolf flagship store in Paris, on the thronged rue Saint-Honoré. Demonstrating their usual fervent commitment to an idea, they covered it floor to ceiling in gray flannel. The exercise ended up getting the juices flowing for both their Fall men's collection and pre-fall women's, which sprang from a common theme: How far can you stretch all that gray flannel?For men, a long history presents itself. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit is a well-worn archetype of the working-drone salaryman. But V&R realize that even the hardest-working drones aren't just at the office these days; they make time for the gym, too. So in a fusion that's enjoying a durable renaissance in menswear at the moment, they wove together traditional tailoring (some, yes, in gray flannel) and sport. "We were literally thinking about combining the ease of sportswear with looking sharp," the duo said. And with that, they literally combined them.Gray flannel suiting was heat-sealed at the seams with bright, athletic-style tape. Several pieces were ringed by sweatshirt ribbing (including an actual sweatshirt, wrapped up in it like a Christmas present). They had a punchy energy that could lure in the suit-phobic. Where the mash-up was most on the nose—as in a tailored blazer with jersey sleeves, or a combination tux jacket/varsity jacket—the concept felt overextended. Still, traditional dress codesareslowly getting sanded down, and Viktor and Rolf, with their history of poking fun at pieties, are well placed to do some sanding.
18 January 2014
Viktor & Rolf's new Paris store is a rhapsody in gray. It's covered, floor to ceiling, with gray flannel. All that gray has started to seep into their design sensibility. For Pre-Fall, "we started with the idea of gray—gray men's fabrics," Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren said at their showroom. "But that's maybe a little dull. We wanted to make it a little more feminine."The addition of some of their trademark tricks—a flounce here, an oversize bow there—did help to take things in a more ladylike direction, though the piling of big decorative flourishes onto heavy, monotone fabrics rendered them a bit leaden. Amid acres of gray (even a rose print was sapped of color), what color there was felt like a revelation. Likewise, the simpler pieces—less expected of V&R and perhaps also less distinctive—had the most impact. Of the pieces in the gray story, a flannel jacket, shrugged-on over cigarette pants and a ruffled blouse, looked ready to leap off the gray racks of the gray shop, offering a taste, but not an overpowering one, of V&R's conviction. Sometimes a dab'll do you.
16 January 2014
The Viktor & Rolf show is one of those in Paris where it takes people a while to filter in and get to their seats, so if you arrive early, you have plenty of opportunity to contemplate the set design and consider what it may foretell of the collection about to be shown. This season, what with the black and white, bricklike backdrop, you thought, "I wonder if the soundtrack will be Pink Floyd'sThe Wall?" And further: "Maybe the collection will be a treatise on school uniforms and rebellious youth.…" Those predictions were accurate. "Another Brick in the Wall" played in a cover version, and on the catwalk Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren executed their own deft cover versions of the schoolgirl look, playing adaptive games with knife pleats, plaid, and crested blazers. There was a ton of commercial appeal in all that, particularly with regard to the long, voluminous shorts, a standout silhouette that Horsting and Snoeren properly emphasized.The most challenging pieces featured an innovative pleat construction that pushed the school uniform thing in an editorial direction; the weakest looks, meanwhile, were those embellished with safety pins or studs. That punk throwback felt a little played out, though it did speak to this season's Viktor & Rolf theme in an apt way. It's probably also true that the girl Horsting and Snoeren are trying to reach with their ready-to-wear isn't convinced that things like studs are passé, and those punk-inflected pieces had the look of stuff that will sell. They should have played another Pink Floyd cover today: The song "Money" comes to mind.
27 September 2013
It's been thirteen years since Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren were on the Couture calendar. They staged their comeback tonight in honor of their label's twentieth anniversary—"there's no better way to celebrate," Rolf said, adding that it was also an effort to "divide our wearable side and our conceptual side."High concept it was. The show was set in a mock Japanese garden, with painted raked sand and a few outcroppings of foam rocks. To start, Horsting and Snoeren walked out, sat down back-to-back, closed their eyes, and proceeded to meditate for a good five minutes. Coming as this did at the end of a week of Paris menswear and Couture shows, one photographer in the pit couldn't resist providing a soundtrack of "ohm"s. Their meditation over, the designers took their places on either side of the stage and the models began appearing.All twenty wore the same black fabric, a technical silk that had the spongy look of neoprene, and flat ropy sandals. The first look out, a shirtdress, had strange, deflated volumes above the knees in front and below them in back. Having made her circuit, the model sat down and Snoeren pulled the hem of her dress down over her ankles. He had turned her into a rock. The process repeated nineteen times. One particularly sculptural dress was big enough to cover a model's entire supine form (its black fringe was meant to resemble grass); another tent dress cloaked not only the kneeling model wearing it but also the girl who was curled up in a fetal position next to her. After the last model was transformed and before the curtain fell, Horsting and Snoeren gave each other a bow.Instant Zen garden. When asked about the project's genesis, Viktor said, "We've been running around for so long, we thought, let's enjoy where we are. Our current state of mind is mindfulness." The thoughtful, clever show was a credit to meditation, a brainy chaser after a week of chiffon and crystals. The best part: Conceptual didn't come at the cost of wearable. There were some great coats and dresses here; we liked look 9 in particular. The word backstage was that half of the collection has already been snapped up by a collector.
2 July 2013
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren celebrate their 20th anniversary in business this year, an occasion marked by a new showroom, a new store opening in Paris this fall, and a return to haute couture after 13 years away. The event will not be marked by a men's runway show because, as they said, "For menswear, it isn't always necessary on the runway. It doesn't always work." So Monsieur, their menswear line, was banished (like so many rebel children before it) to school: For Spring, Horsting and Snoeren worked a bad-schoolboy theme. Badges appliquéd to jackets announced his matriculation at Viktor & Rolf College (est. 1992), though college prep seemed closer to the mark. Their teenage avatars weren't above slicing the bottoms off their raw-edged blazers or sewing punky patches onto their jeans for weekends off campus.The designers made mischief with tailored pieces split down the middle—the front, pinstriped suiting fabric; the back, stretch jersey—and by sewing tie silk onto lapels. Their imagined school even had a Latin motto printed on shirts: Actis Virtus, "Virtue in Deeds." Twenty years in fashion is probably long enough to apply that kind of pat on the back, even if it's hard to shake the feeling that the two still cast their lot more with the bad schoolboy than his virtuous headmaster.
25 June 2013
Viktor & Rolf's inspiration for their Spring '14 men's collection was a rebel schoolboy, so for their Resort womenswear range arriving alongside it, they imagined a school_girl_. "Fresh, young, and sculptural," is how the duo described it, a sweet bit of nostalgia for a pair loping headlong into the future, with a new Paris boutique opening in the Fall and a renewed spot on the Paris couture calendar this week. Their schoolgirl—played to a T, for lookbook purposes, by the dewy Magdalena Jasek—wears snug little tailored jackets, knee-length shorts, and pleated skirts. But her white school-uniform shirts also came in longer dress versions (and, for the schoolgirl grown-up, a full-length white wedding dress version from the new bridal capsule Viktor & Rolf Marriage). Ruffles in bonded crepe provided the sculptural bit, but despite V&R's well-known predilection for frills, it was the more tomboyish tops and trousers that felt freshest.
24 June 2013
This was a strong collection for Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren. Though short on fireworks, the clothes on the runway today were rather eloquent, with a passage of looks with trompe l'oeil hand embroidery standing out as particularly expressive. It was tempting to read this collection as a conversation some young woman might be having with herself as she tries, day by day and moment by moment, to decide what kind of person she is. Is she a bouncy individual who wears a fittedsportifsweater and short, godet-pleated, quilted black leather skirt? Or is she sober and serious and even a little bit militant, outfitted in a trim, double-breasted black wool jumpsuit? Perhaps she's just seething with punkish rage, and wants to rip her clothes apart, as Horsting and Snoeren's cool, fraylike embroideries suggested. And maybe she's just a huge Viktor & Rolf fan, and therefore wants her staple leather jacket to boast a giant, signature Viktor & Rolf bow. Who knows? We each contain multitudes. From the first look out, an abbreviated black dress whose sculpted volumes, depending on how you looked at it, evoked either a rumpled bow or an angry black cloud, this collection was kind of a Rorschach test.What was absolutely clear, however, was that these clothes were meant to sell: Even the most challenging pieces—the white shirtdresses tricked out with ruffles and lacy fray embroidery—were relatively accessible. And items like a pleat-accented leather jacket, or a flared miniskirt topped by a bow, could conceivably find a warm welcome at your average upscale mall in middle America. Strange days, indeed.
1 March 2013
It would be too easy to crack that Viktor & Rolf's Fall collection was fifty shades of gray. Too easy, but not inaccurate. Fall found the Dutch pair designing in a restricted palette that ranged mostly from black to white and in between; the few colors that caromed off the poles, like brown, slate green, and anthracite red, were mostly close relatives of gray. For color, the designers leaned instead on their countryman and collaborator, Piet Parra, the Dutch artist whose name is more familiar in street-wear circles, thanks to his own line, Rockwell. He'd never done runway fashion before, but when V & R came knocking, "I ended up being so enthusiastic, I made a ton of drawings," he said from his front-row perch at the show. The catwalk's backsplash was printed with his cannonballing bird-man drawing, which appeared as well on shirts, bags, and even a suit; his doodled letters and eyeglasses ran across the collection, too.The drawings were wild, but the clothes themselves stayed a narrower course. They had less of the bombastic oddity we've come to expect from Viktor & Rolf—at least on the runway level. That's not to say there weren't smart bits of fluid tailoring, and a kicky bit of trompe l'oeil that came from quilted satin standing in for leather. And it's not to say that, all things considered, the collection wasn't all the better for the focus. What isFifty Shadesabout, after all, but the pleasures of restraint?
16 January 2013
It's Viktor & Rolf's twentieth anniversary. To celebrate, they've moved in to an opulent showroom in the very heart of haute bourgeois Paris. It feels like their spiritual home, more so than weed ’n’ boho Amsterdam. And, in the way that significant birthdays tend to occasion some soul-searching, the duo set about defining their ethos, once and for all, with a pre-fall collection that offered a clean, graphic interpretation of the design codes of their label: contrast and juxtaposition. But it is Viktor & Rolf we're talking about here, so allowance had to be made for irony bordering on outright tongue-in-cheek."Wild Romance" was the title they gave their collection. "Sculptural, with a crocodile inspiration," said Rolf. Why? "Because the crocodile is a very literal example of something wild." So croc patterned a silk nylon jacquard trench, or a knit was embroidered with scales. And fabrics were as dry as a reptile's skin. The antediluvian form of the croc also dovetailed with V&R's own appetite for purely sculptural shapes. The collection emphasized clean construction with a masculine touch in a strong-shouldered, high-waisted pantsuit, afil-à-filjumpsuit with a shawl collar, and the duo's signature tux statement reconfigured as a jumpsuit. Fortunately, these pieces were strong enough to overpower V&R's peculiar predilection for twee ruffles and bows. But their archness triumphed with the Bombette, an accessory that put the grenade inhand-bag.
15 January 2013
Paging Joan Crawford. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren revisited old Hollywood today. There was a black and white tile floor straight out of the Regency period, and the models stepped onto the runway via an antique mirror, like visions from the past. For clothes they wore long pleated gowns in black, white, and silver lamé almost as reflective as that mirror, or pastel georgette draped and swagged from necklines and waists embellished with ropes of crystals. Shoulders were big and waists were tiny.There's just about nothing more classic than the era they were channeling. The surprise, this being a Viktor & Rolf show, was how normal, how reasonable the collection was. That doesn't mean the designers completely laid off the visual puns, of course: We think we saw Lauren Bacall's face rendered in patchwork leather on a sweater, and we're certain the designers' first names were picked out in sequins on two others. For other decorative motifs, they turned to bows and roses and three-dimensional tulle embroideries, all details culled from their own archives. The column skirt in shaved tulle ruffles embellished with cut-Plexiglas roses that were much, much bigger than life-size won't bridge the runway-reality divide, but the eveningwear will: Most of it will end up on the backs of Crawford and Bacall's silver-screen descendants. That's gotta be a kick for Messieurs Horsting and Snoeren.
28 September 2012
Salaam, Bombay! Viktor & Rolf's latest took India as its loose theme—loose in both senses of the word. Their Indian (Spring) Summer was a suit-heavy range that emphasized ornamentation. If it could glitter, chances are it did. Noah Mills' show-opening look first sent the light flaring with metallic high-tops and a silver-threaded tie. It all took off from there. Traditional European shapes relaxed: The new dress shirt is a tunic; the new suit pant, a jodhpur. Where slouch turned to droop, results were mixed. Motifs with a twist on the whole fared better. The new herringbone is (in descending order) an embroidery on jacquard, an illustration done by hand, or, at its farthest out, a pattern of sewn-in mirrors. Here's looking at you, kid—literally.
27 June 2012
If you've ever wondered at the inner life of Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, their Resort collection offered some pointed insight. After a year of life-changing yoga, Rolf was open to the option of transcendental meditation. But a particularly grim brown-rice-no-knickers introductory tape compelled him to ask, "Why can't spirituality be glamorous?" So he and Viktor trained their powers of imagination on one of those counterintuitive hybrids they specialize in, and whaddaya know? Haute Hollywood met Hare Krishna. Well,hello, Dalai!Archness is Viktor & Rolf's albatross, but here, the inspiration was so innately peculiar that there was scarcely any point to the accusation. The exaggerated shoulders, the draped lamé, the layers of tulle (for day and night), and the ruching were sheer—though not always see-through—silver-screen goddess. The hot orange-y color scheme and decoration stirred Indian exotica into the mix. (A pair of wide pants were apparently inspired by a sari.) The designers rather fancied the notion of a spiritually enlightened Rita Hayworth as the collection's presiding spirit. Quite how she would speak to women in the twenty-first century was unclear, especially when it was more likely they'd be listening to "classic" V&R: the trench with Chinese lantern sleeves, the gazar blouson with the big bow, the tuxedo with one ruffled lapel. Maybe not enlightened but at least comprehensible.
22 June 2012
The Viktor & Rolf show began with the photographers in the camera pit howling at an enormous moon at the back of the runway. That set the stage for what was to follow. Decorous draped silk pajama sets were printed with animal motifs, and understated, almost middle-of-the-road black and white tailoring was trimmed along the seams with strips of mink, echoing the models' fur pompom pumps.On other pieces, the danger was a little bit closer to the surface. Voluminous fur coats, for instance, were shaved in wide curving lines, as if their owners had been swiped by giant claws and lived to tell about it. And a long dress in sheer black tulle (which made it abundantly clear that the model wasn't wearing panties) abided by its own kill-first, ask-questions-later policy.Hunters or prey? Heavenly creatures or sexy beasts? Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren's ideas about womanhood are overly simplistic, and that can prove frustrating at their runway shows, where they emphasize their art over wearability. Their pre-fall collection tred similar babes-in-the-woods ground with all-around more successful results.
2 March 2012
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, dandy gentlemen that they are, are tireless campaigners for the suit, the coat, the tux, and the tie in the many twisted mutations that, season after season, they propose it. This season's sartorial moment was brought to you by leather and bulk. Designers are betting big on the leather pant making a comeback in the Fall, but few went as far as Horsting and Snoeren did, showing skin trousers with silk jacquard tuxedo jackets, or leather overalls with proper shirts and ties. On top, their offerings tended toward the round and padded. There were fur-collared puffer parkas, bulging-armed sweaters, leather bombers, and chesterfields, all sporting the same exaggerated, inflated shoulder shapes.Backstage, the designers mentioned their Fall 1998 women's collection, Atomic Bomb, as this collection's inspiration and predecessor. In that show, too, they inflated silhouettes to mushroom-cloud proportions. But an equal influence was exerted by a newer bomb in the V & R arsenal: Spicebomb, the just-debuted cologne counterpart to their best-selling women's Flowerbomb scent. Spicebomb's grenade-shaped bottle echoed the lines of the silhouettes, and the face of its new campaign, Sean O'Pry, closed the show. "He spiced up the season," Snoeren said backstage. Smells like a reminder that fashion shows are about many things, and clothing is only one of them.
18 January 2012
Where would Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren be without their dolls? Dolls have inspired so much of their work as fashion designers that it would probably be sheer bliss for someone like Sigmund Freud to untangle the skeins that link them with Viktor & Rolf's concept of womanhood. But he'd never be able to accuse the duo of a lack of self-awareness. Yes, their new collection was inspired by dolls—this time, the porcelain-faced Victorian variety—but it was also inspired by Freud, who famously described the sexual life of an adult woman as "a dark continent." It was precisely that secretive quality that sucked in the designers."There's such a lack of mystery in fashion now," said Snoeren. "This is our reaction to vulgarity. We imagined a modern Victorian woman, discreet, moody, rich, and luxurious." From a business standpoint, that kind of studied, dressy oddness is what they feel their customers look to them for. From a creative angle, it gave the designers carte blanche to engage in one of their favorite pursuits: toying with silhouettes. They exploded and stretched and puffed and shrunk and draped. They fringed and ruffled, too. The result looked here and there like The-Magnificent-Ambersons-Going-Dutch, especially when velvet gigot sleeves and a cape of shaved rabbit fur put in an appearance. A print of Victorian ladies could have been mug shots of Freud's patients—or Jack the Ripper's victims. And Viktor & Rolf Soir, the duo's new eveningwear capsule collection, was also very much in the full-moon, funereal vein that was so accurately captured in the lookbook.Still, Snoeren insisted that what they stand for as designers is "unexpected elegance," and there were enough instances of that with these clothes that you can see why they keep showing up on red carpets. A padded gazar waistcoat stays in the mind. And something else Freud might have to concede—there's always a kernel of humor somewhere with Viktor & Rolf. The Victorian buttoned boot came with a dominatrix heel. Roll on, full moon.
13 January 2012
It was blazing hot at Viktor & Rolf. Good thing they got the red face paint idea out of the way last season. Instead, the models wore a thick set of synthetic pink lashes—they were baby dolls, not knights. Dolls' clothes informed the girlish silhouettes, the stiff nature of the fabrics, the oversize lace prints, and the blown-up proportions of the stitching that held the clothes together. The naive quality of the lacing, as if it had been done by seamstress giants, worked on some of the pieces, including a bra top and a matching skirt as well as an A-line shift. Ultimately, though, it overpowered the show's prettier, simpler moments, such as the pair of metallic lavender lace dresses, one just below the knee and the other long to the floor. The designers seemed to let their concept get in the way of what grown-up women might actually want to wear.The models made their entrances and exits though the parted yards-long "skirts" of the singers of the pop duo Brigitte, who performed on a platform high above the runway. Horsting and Snoeren get points for that clever setup this season, but not for too much else.
30 September 2011
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren spoke of a "new age" mood for the Spring collection they showed today, but the new age was an old age—the seventies, the movement's original heyday. Flapping, oversize peak lapels; flared trousers; and patchwork denims all signaled the Me Decade, one that was interpreted, you felt 40 years later, a little literally. V & R are rarely without their sartorial curveball, and today it came in mammalian form: a dolphin, who appeared knit into sweaters, printed on suit linings, and in one memorable, large-collared top, flapping quite literally off of shirting fabric, with little dorsal fins jagging straight off of the garment. The Dutch duo refer to their target man as a "sexy intellect," so no wonder they picked the intellectual of the ocean as their totem. They were steadiest on their sea legs when Flipper brought with him some of his native water-blue tones, in contrast to the bone-and-flesh color scheme dominating the collection.
22 June 2011
The ongoing problem with Viktor & Rolf is the way their art gets in the way of their craft. So it was with a sinking sensation that one received the duo's declaration that their Resort collection was inspired by Cindy, Barbie's cooler, couture-y rival.Dolls have been a good-luck charm for V & R in the past. Some of their most memorable presentations have been constructed around dressing and undressing motionless models as though they were playthings. At least it's made for some great performance art, and, in the case of the designers' dollhouse exhibition in London in 2008, something that was maybe even more elevated than that. But here, as the designers talked about using the proportions of a doll (short upper body, constricted waist) and the conventions of a doll's clothing (exaggerated stitches, nothing ironed, because the clothes are too small to press), the concept felt too fetishistically arch for its own good.But surprise, surprise, the clothes themselves defused such reservations. Instead of coming on too creepy for primetime, Cindy's closet yielded a collection that felt fresh for V & R, even when the doll references were as blatant as a floor-sweeping tie-dyed hostess skirt, or high-waisted pants in a denim blue, or a sleeveless jumpsuit in the same shade. A doll's denims were always problematic, stiffed and over-stitched and the embodiment of everything "groovy" that corporate toymakers were trying desperately to co-opt. But V & R created denim-look pieces in jacquard and silk linen, or even printed as snakeskin on a leather blouson, that looked positively chic. And the collection's signature mustard yellow (a color that always looked better against molded plastic than real human skin) came across as glamorous gold when offered as a trench in duchesse.The trench being a V & R signature piece, the designers offered a capsule of four styles, including ruffled and caped, that managed an appealing hybrid of the classic and the contrived. No mean feat!
16 June 2011
A drawbridge came down and we were in the Middle Ages at Viktor & Rolf. The Dutch designers took cues from knights' armor this season because, they said backstage, "We felt the need for protection." Their show notes elaborated: "Fashion's ever-increasing speed reminds us how important it is to battle for our creativity."Whatever the motivation, the show unfolded as a joust between black and ecru, with many of the outfits coming down the runway twice, once in each color. Clever, but not necessarily all that creative. The models' faces were painted blood red, but the stiff fabrics (felted wool, sculptural leather) looked practically swordproof. No real blood was spilled, although it might've been if the round frills that decorated the shoulders and the ruffles that stood up several inches from the arm seams of the jackets had been actual metal. Playing damsel to the knights in shining armor were a couple of pretty sweaters with rose intarsias. These were worn with kiltlike pleated skirts and unstructured dresses that looked like crusaders' flags.Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are consummate tailors. Strip these clothes of the theme-y trappings and you could just about make that out.
4 March 2011
Viktor & Rolf's Fall collection opened with a suit of sorts—a gray _sweat_suit. "We were thinking of the wardrobe of a gentleman, and a suit is an iconic part of a gentleman's wardrobe," Viktor Horsting explained after the show. "[But] we wanted to play on what a suit actually is. It's a symbol—a very masculine symbol—but it's also just two garments in the same fabric."In other words, just 'cause you can jog in it doesn't mean it ain't a suit. Or because it happens to be quilted nylon. Or have long-john legs. As often as not, though, the designers' variations on a theme were standard-issue two-piecers. As suits go, some were quite nice. But, you wondered, whither the high jinks that so often make the duo's women's line a scream? (There was a lone woman walking the show, first in a red coat and later a fairly sensible ladies' dress; Horsting and Rolf Snoeren said she was there to indicate the fundamental oneness of the V&R world, but no one so ho-humbly attired would make it onto their womenswear catwalk.) "For us, it's about having a surreal element within a traditional context," Snoeren added. There wasn't much that was surreal here. An early bright spot—figuratively and literally—was a two-button red corduroy suit. Not exactly the thing for the office, but it had a kicky bite. You missed it after it left.
19 January 2011
Viktor & Rolf's pre-fall collection married the big-city chic of the tuxedo to the outdoors rootsiness of the lumberjack. Huh? "We like to reconcile opposites," said Viktor Hortsing. "The tux is close to us but we also wanted an element of something rough and easy." The image on a T-shirt and shawl functioned as a kind of manifesto; in it, a photograph of elegantly entwined hands holding a cigarette was printed on a buffalo check backdrop. That red and black check—the ultimate lumberjack reference—was replicated in Viktor & Rolf's beloved trompe l'oeil, as organza ribbons stitched in squares. The check was also exploded into a single red square on a sweater, or blurred into a pattern on a chiffon blouse. If you cared to step back and squint, there might have been lumberjack references in the quilted sleeve on a jacket, or the duffel coat reconfigured as a cape. And worlds undoubtedly collided with the jean jacket appliquéd on a tuxedo jacket, or the red felt boots with the ultra-heel. There was something a littleTwin Peaks-y about the culture clash, which probably gels perfectly with V&R's appetite for disorientation. If only you could imagine it in the real world.
14 January 2011
The idea Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren had for Spring—to riff on a man's shirt—was a simple one, and timely, too, given all the recent talk about classic sportswear. What the Dutch duo put on the runway, however, was a collection of quite theatrical clothes. No surprise there, perhaps. It started with a banker's striped button-down, only it had been turned into a short shirtdress made from strips of embroidered blue ribbons with—count 'em—four collars and four sets of cuffs skipping up the arms. And it ended with a wedding gown that spanned the width of the runway, its skirts made from shirt tails and the bodice from starchy pearl-studded collars sticking out every which way, including up past the model's earlobes.There's a bridezilla joke in there somewhere, but we'll refrain from making it because other staples of a man's wardrobe also got the V&R treatment, and not always with such over-the-top results. A pair of shirtdresses, one side fitted, the other softly draping off the shoulder, could believably make the leap from catwalk to street. And there will be some clamoring among the pop-star set for poufy dresses inset with lace at the waist, down the side of one torso, or on the sleeves.But the look that had everyone talking was an understated white shirt cropped at the waist with its tails extending into a train. It was paired with plain black pants, and it'd actually make a great wedding outfit for the kind of bride who buys Viktor & Rolf's commercial collection not for its camp humor, but for its sharp tailoring. It made you wish they'd put more of the latter on the runway today.
1 October 2010
Viktor & Rolf's design references are always quite explicit, but their application to the actual clothes can be somewhat obscure. For their new men's collection, they said they'd been thinking about Hollywood stars holidaying in Biarritz in the forties (presumably not allowing a minor irritant like a world war to get in the way of their good time). Visually, this inspiration translated into the idea of shadows cast by sunlight, or the lighting on film sets. So a sweatshirt featured a shadowy double of Viktor & Rolf's signature heavy-rimmed glasses, and there were black patches under suit lapels and dark piping on shirts.Silhouette-wise, the jacket belted over shorts did evoke the leisurewear of mid-century movie stars, and the beaded lapels on a long-trousered version had an arch glamour. Rolf Snoeren claimed that their inspiration was all in the name of bestowing on boys the elegance of men. In unfortunate practice, it meant an outfit that might have passed muster on a Hollywood he-man came across as fey on a skinny young model. Compounding that impression was the musical guest Viktor & Rolf had chosen for their show: Elly Jackson, a.k.a. La Roux, an English popstress of current note with strikingly boyish looks. That, said Snoeren, is why they chose her—it's the kind of illusion in which V & R delight. But in this case, the most appealing clothes were the outerwear pieces that were exactly what they seemed to be. Oh, and that sweatshirt with the glasses.
23 June 2010
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren love a concept. They're not the only ones with the style of the 1940's on their minds this season, but they've elaborated on the influence by envisaging a woman who, having entered the workforce while her man was away at the war, has absorbed elements of the breadwinner's wardrobe. This being Resort, she's now feeling out her postwar freedom by the French seaside in emblematic menswear reinterpreted in feminine fabrics like gabardine, cotton drill, and piqué remodeled in silk and viscose. One tweedy-looking topcoat was actually bouclé, and a military poncho and shirt appeared in papery silk. The archness in a Viktor & Rolf collection often relates to some cinematic specificity that feels like a private joke—here it was the specter of Joan Crawford hovering over a sundress in black mesh. The designers' fetishistic devotion to the bygone era extended to Bakelite details and accessories (the plastic was in vogue in the thirties and forties) and wooden-soled platforms.
20 June 2010
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are the performance artists of the fashion world. Their Fall show, which they dubbed Glamour Factory, picked up where theirBabushka collectionof more than ten years ago left off. In that instance, the designers appeared on a revolving stage to dress Maggie Rizer in nine layers of crystal-encrusted dresses. Today, Kristen McMenamy, another nineties face, was the center of attention.After she teetered out wearing a few more layers than Rizer did (she estimated later that it was three times her body weight), McMenamy was joined by Horsting and Snoeren, who proceeded to remove one piece of her clothing at a time and dress the younger models in those items for their marches down the runway. First off was a giant tweed cape that turned into a coat with a few tweaks here and there, followed by, among other things, a leather coat that reversed to a beaded one and a crystal-studded number that unzipped down McMenamy’s back and zipped up the second girl’s front.Once McMenamy had been stripped down to a nude bodysuit, the process resumed in reverse. The give and take culminated with a slinky silk strapless dress that with a few pulls of its drawstrings became a cape, and a ball skirt that turned into an Elizabethan ruff of absolutely epic proportions. The crowd ate it up.But what was the message behind the theatrics? Why dust off a past project in front of a been-there, seen-that crowd? After coming down off their stage high, Horsting and Snoeren explained that, “This time around, we want to show that something can be both wearable and extreme at the same time. It goes beyond a mere idea; it is literally ready for production.” It’s an interesting notion, but it wasn’t entirely clear how it related to, say, that ball skirt-cum-ruff. Ultimately, you can’t help thinking this show will be remembered more for the spectacle than the clothes.
5 March 2010
Anyone expecting chainsaw-hacked pastel tulle ball gowns in Viktor & Rolf's pre-fall collection is going to be sorely disappointed. The Dutch duo has grounded its latest effort, dubbed "Paint It Black" after the Rolling Stones tune, firmly in reality. But that's not to say there weren't some clever, playful ideas. Undo the snaps around the shoulders of a cropped jacket and it becomes a vest. Do the same on a pair of knee-high boots and you've got a sexy pair of booties. There was also a sharply cut double-revers tuxedo jacket, a bold beaver-trim gilet, and one very cool Barbour-inspired cape. And how's this for practical? Inspired by the success of their five-piece capsule collection of little black dresses, the designers added a white-shirt capsule to their lineup. The best of the bunch combines crisp cotton poplin and drapey ivory silk charmeuse.
28 January 2010
Style.com did not review the Fall 2010 menswear collections. Please enjoy the photos, and stay tuned for our complete coverage of the Spring 2011 collections, including reviews of each show by Tim Blanks.
20 January 2010
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren play it safe? Not a chance. While other designers have been plumbing the depths of their brand DNA and sometimes coming up empty, the Dutch duo were hacking away at their dresses with a chain saw. Literally. "With the credit crunch and everybody cutting back, we decided to cut tulle ball gowns," Snoeren said.The gowns he was talking about came at the end of the show. The skirt of a crystal bustier dress was a solid mass of net ruffles, except for the place where a hole had been tunneled front to back and where the edges were chopped away. Another frock was sliced in half with a good six inches between the top and a bottom that seemed to defy gravity. Truly fabulous both in conception and execution, if not all that likely to find a raison d'être outside the pages of glossy fashion magazines—or onstage with the likes of Róisín Murphy. She wore a tulle skirt dress that hid her pregnant belly while she performed on a pedestal at the back of the runway.Many of the cocktail dresses that preceded the finale, though, did look like they could pass in real life. These married masculine bits of tuxedos and ultra-femme color-blocked pastel plissé, with the remnants of the duo's tulle hack jobs frilling a shoulder, tracing the length of a sleeve, or decorating a bodice like a flower. The designers also dipped into Spring's lingerie drawer, coming up with silk satin bed jackets, camis, and pajamas with peekaboo lace insets. Those were on trend, but the big story was the credit-crunch couture dresses. Horsting and Snoeren haven't always scored with their conceptual games the last few seasons, but today it was a total blast watching them let it rip.
2 October 2009
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren played with opposites for Resort, focusing especially on the masculine/feminine polarity. Natty toppers had scarf-tied belts, and a crepe-front jacket with exposed tailoring details came with a chiffon back. A similar fabric pairing conceit was carried through to the knitwear. Draping wasn't just for dresses; pant legs were ruched and the overall fit was loose, the attitude relaxed. The collection was stronger for being gimmick-free.The Dutch duo's five-piece Black Dress collection bowed alongside Resort. It consists of vintage-looking cocktail numbers. Is there a more recession-proof garment around? "It seemed like such a logical combination, Viktor & Rolf and the little black dress," the designers explained. "That such a simple garment is so infinitely adaptable is greatly appealing."
1 July 2009
With Greco-Roman sculptures as a backdrop, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren sent out a Fall collection based on classical draping. It's become an important trend this season, but leave it to the eccentric Dutchmen to tweak it mightily. They swagged liquid jersey to create suits that resembled nothing if not theater curtains, but preferred mostly to carry out their experiments with stiff woolens in shades of off-white, stone, loden, and black. The folds that decorated the opening coat looked as immobile as those you might see on the marble museMelpomeneat the Louvre. On other pieces, like a vest and a long skirt, they seemed to have been pressed flat: 3-D decorations rendered in 2-D. Even more peculiar was a long skirt faceted like diamonds, made from a leaden material reminiscent of concrete.To be clear, there were some elegant pieces—notably a soft gray dress topstitched in a trompe l'oeil style to evoke ruffles, or the printed silk chiffon shirtdresses—and these have a plausible future off the runway. But with the models' faces and necks whitened, the better to resemble the statues behind them, the concept obscured the clothes.
8 March 2009
For their pre-fall collection, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren were inspired by a seventies photo of a Russian girl. Fetishistically specific, but smart enough given that Russia is one of the label's major markets. This was the Russia of Brezhnev and babushkas, though, rather than that of today's glamorous fashion plates. The era made its presence felt in the draped construction, soft jersey being a big seventies thing. A floaty, multilayered dress in silk georgette, meanwhile, echoed Ossie Clark—it would have been a very lucky babushka to have such a piece. Otherwise, items like a flocked sheer overskirt layered over a silk crepe underskirt, or a tan trench with big, rounded sleeves, had a stolid, ladylike quality.
23 January 2009
If last season's Viktor & Rolf runway show was a rejection of the ever-quickening pace of fashion, the duo's new Web show, which Style.com exclusively previewed in advance of its October 2 debut on the label's Web site, was a proposal for an alternative. No invitations, no seating charts, no traffic jams, no endless wait. Not that creating the ten-minute video saved them much money: It took two-and-a-half days to shoot Shalom Harlow and a team of 57 to insert her along with her clones along the virtual runway. At the finale, the "models" stood in an array clapping before dissolving into so many pixels and evaporating into the digital ether.Pixelation gave Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren a starting point for the collection, which, at just 21 looks, felt a bit slim. On the obvious side was a white T-shirt with a pixelated dragon on it; more abstract and fabulous were the trio of Swarovski crystal-banded dresses accented with candy-striped rills of organza. (Speaking of man hours, those three frocks took four weeks each to hand-make.) Somewhere in the middle of the literal-to-conceptual spectrum were supersized versions of those organza rills on a dramatic cocktail dress, and various experiments in volume (a solid black coat and a dress in spicy shades of yellow, orange, and red that expanded and contracted in droopy tiers down the body). Many looks were shown with futuristic black-and-white tights.So does the Web show have legs? In our new economy, it's a proposition worth pursuing, but for this collection, the cool concept overshadowed the too-few clothes.
30 September 2008
Viktor & Rolf are currently the subject of a museum show in London that spotlights their talents as installation artists. It's a huge success, but it has the paradoxical side effect of underscoring just how academic their approach to designing actual clothes for actual people is. And nowhere is this dilemma more acute than with their men's collection—it's always been concept over clothing. V&R's latest idea was Hawaii in the fifties, a time when they felt people had a natural elegance. That wasn'tpreciselythe quality that their bamboo-print shirts, tiki-mask motifs, and faux wood-grain jacquards conveyed, but at least there was a degree of accessibility in such kitschery. Jackets were shorter and roomier, to the point where one was padless and drop-shouldered (not a success). Trousers had a pajama-pant ease.The ruling notion was easy pieces with embellishment. Think gingham caning on a tuxedo shirt and silk flowers attached like a lei around the neck of another shirt. Chinos were embroidered with little martini glasses, a WASP-y reference that Ralph Lauren might wish he'd thought of. A sky-blue tux jacket with a black satin lapel and a ruffled front harked back to the imaginary Vegas magician who V&R cooked up as a muse several seasons back. (Yikes! He's clearly still on a losing streak.) Slightly more pleasing were the Swarovski-beaded tropical blooms that decorated the lapels and trouser legs of another evening look.
27 June 2008
"We love fashion, but it's going so fast. We wanted to say 'No' this season." Thus spoke Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren to a group of devoted fans and curious reporters eager to parse the meaning of a somewhat difficult Fall show that began with a precise gray trench, the word "No" popping out from its chest in 3-D, and ended with a strapless black tulle dress gathered below the knee and embroidered with the phrase "Dream on."More than three weeks into the collections, with another five days left to go, no one is going to argue the point with the Dutch designers. And they did manage to express the frustrations we all feel, with characteristic irony: with staples (as in metal fastenings, not wardrobe classics). They were golden staples, to be precise, and they stood in for seams at the waist of a peplum jacket and in pleats on a pair of baggy trousers; they fastened ruffles to the shoulder and hem of an asymmetrical party frock; and they became a form of glam embroidery on a strapless, tiered gown. Without them, these clothes (the frilled organza blouses, the nipped-waist red sheath, the belted fox coat) would've landed squarely on the predictable side of French chic. With them, and in such great numbers, the results felt gimmicky.
25 February 2008
Which came first, the idea or the clothes? Oh, how we wish we could grill Viktor & Rolf. The archness of their menswear inspirations is always such that one's initial response is a big fat "Why?" Then one jumps back, takes a deep breath, and wills oneself to surrender to the concept. In this case, it was a twenty-first-century update ofAround the World in Eighty Days, with a modern-day Phileas Fogg swanning from culture to culture, integrating colors, textures, and details into his wardrobe. The nouveau-dandy Fogg would duplicate a paisley pattern from India in the beading on his evening jacket. He'd have a dragon from China embroidered on his tie. His passport stamps would make a print for a shirt or a jacket. His modes of transport—train, sailing ship, hot-air balloon—would inspire another print. His native England would supply the traditional Jermyn Street shirtings (here rendered in silk) and the dandified details, such as a fob chain printed on an evening suit.So much for the backstory. In their desire to depict a dandy moving from place to place without compromising his innate dilettantism, Viktor & Rolf managed to reconfigure a fisherman's vest as eveningwear. They also delivered a driving coat in double-faced neoprene, which was solid enough to stand up on its own, Fogg or no Fogg. By the time this journey ended, you were left wishing for a little release of the tension that holds Viktor & Rolf's menswear so tight.
18 January 2008
"Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near? Just like me, they long to be close to you." With Karen Carpenter on the loudspeakers, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren sent out a Harlequin Romance of a Spring collection…but not in the damsel-in-distress-with-her-corset-coming-undone paperback-novel-cover kind of way. It was the myriad double-entendre possibilities of their concept that engaged the surrealism-loving duo, and it made for a charming show.After opening with a white duchesse-satin jacket with a Pierrot collar and matching ultrawide pants, and working through several more monochromatic ruffled looks, out fluttered a clue: a long baby-pink dress with diamonds of black lace near the hem. From there, the harlequins came fast and quick, both in literal interpretations (contrasting patent triangles on high-heeled shoes and booties) and in the more abstract (say, a short drop-waist dress with a round, frilled collar resembling the top half of a Commedia dell'Arte clown's outfit).As unlikely as it sounds, the white, pink, and black collection with touches of timely wallpaper flowers was as wearable as it was conceptual. (A welcome change after last season, when they made their models wear those ill-conceived lighting and speaker rigs of steel.) Wearable, that is, save for the violins: as an intarsia decoration on a sweater dress, well, OK; but as a necklace, or doubled up and plopped at the shoulders of a long coat? Only fit for a clown.
1 October 2007
Viktor & Rolf called their latest collection "A bigger splash of colors" in honor of David "Him Again" Hockney's most famous painting, and its undulating blues were reflected in the jacquard weave of a jacket or the pleats rippling across the front of an aqua-toned blouson. Other Hockney works informed a palm tree print and another jacquard, which was based on the artist's interpretation of the alphabet. It was Hockney's life as well as his art that inspired the duo, so his signature glasses appeared as an embroidered motif, and a blue awning-striped jacket could have been lifted from his closet. But the stripes had been appliquéd on the fabric, as a reminder that one was in the magical kingdom of Viktor & Rolf, where nothing is quite what it seems. Hence, two-in-ones (a cotton collar under a piqué V-neck) or an all-American patchwork jacket that was woven rather than patched. Considering the borderline lugubriousness of Viktor & Rolf's public demeanor, it's always reassuring to see their playful side come out, here when they stamped their signature V&R seal into a big swirly gob of play dough. Equally, they're keen to broadcast their seriousness of purpose, so this season they offered a range of classic suits, including a three-button pinstripe where the lapel cast a "shadow" that was emphasized by stitching. That kind of arch detail is almost too clever for its own good, unless one cleaves to the view that Viktor & Rolf are better artists than designers.
28 June 2007
Should anyone have the idea that today's models are a limp and weedy bunch, they might take a look at what they had to put up with—literally—at Viktor & Rolf. First, the girls had to shoulder heavy steel rigs, further weighed down with tungsten lights and speakers, some of them built up high above their heads. Then, unable to bend or use their arms to balance, they were asked to walk the runway wearing giant, clunky high-heeled Dutch wooden clogs. As the rigs got bigger and the girls' expressions more frozen with fear, involuntary gasps escaped from the audience. "Oh my God, she's listing!" hissed one observer. "I can't look!" cried another. "That poor girl's slipping!" shrieked someone else.By pure luck, no one did fall, and when the applause came, Viktor & Rolf may not have realized it was all for the models' heroic endurance, rather than for them. The mild-mannered and scrupulously polite Horsting and Snoeren can hardly be suspected of being closet sadists, but in this case their concept crossed over into cruelty. At the end, if they'd come out rigged up themselves—in clogs—they might have gotten away with it, but whatever point they were (perhaps) making about how each of us walks through life in her own imaginary fashion show, it couldn't override the discomfort of the spectacle. Worse, no one was talking about the clothes as they left the show. In fact, they were inspired by Dutch folk costume: tapestries, checks, and pure white buttoned-up blouses, with a smattering of basic sportswear corduroy cropped pants in between. There was also something in the way that some of the skirts and evening dresses were hooked to the rigs that seemed fleetingly reminiscent of the manner in which costume dolls are pinned into packaging in souvenir shops. Unfortunately, though, it's almost impossible to concentrate on finer points like that when you're anxious that a young woman might be about to break her neck in front of you.
25 February 2007
"Cosmopolocal," the name that Viktor & Rolf gave their latest collection, suggested some kind of dialogue between big-city slick and small-town folksy. The duo clarified the relationship with the way they chose to present the clothes. Everything was paired with traditional Dutch clogs, and bright yellow (the traditional color of those clogs) was the single cartoony accent. Folklore meets pop—that more or less defined the collection. Yellow was used to pipe jackets, frame pockets, color a jean jacket or trench in a soft cotton cashmere. T-shirts had a Lichtenstein-like "POW!" and a Dutch artisanal pleating technique created patchwork shirts that were also reminiscent of Lichtenstein's rising-sun images. The notion of present cross-referencing past reached some kind of crazy apotheosis with a huge folkloric belt buckle that Rocky Balboa would surely relate to, and the same element of everyday heroism informed a double-breasted, cable-stitched cardigan that might appeal to your typical suburban superdad.But the suburbs are scarcely where Viktor & Rolf's hearts lie. As arch illusionists, they have proved themselves ideally suited to dress the magic men of America's showplace, Las Vegas. This collection highlighted a chevron lightning print (in Lichtenstein's lexicon, it would be a total "ZAP!") that, as a three-piece silk tux, wouldn't look out of place on any magician worth his warm-up fee. Yellow may well be the shade of Dutch clogs, but it is also the color of Dutch cheese.
28 January 2007
You've got to love Viktor & Rolf for their dedicated services to fashion week entertainment. For spring, they produced the full cabaret: Rufus Wainwright singing "Over the Rainbow," a showtime orchestra, ballroom dancers, chandeliers, and champagne. It was a gorgeous performance—all girls two-stepping backward in Lucite-and-pink-satin platforms, and tuxedoed boys dancing cheek to cheek. What more could one desire in a fashion show? A little more consideration to the clothing. Seems churlish, but there it is.Occasionally, as when Tori Amos did her gig on their stage, V&R manage to combine artistic collaboration with an amazing, thought-provoking collection; this time theStrictly Ballroomtheme didn't get to the same level. Star motifs, spangly nude inserts, and dance skirts are emerging as a Paris sub-theme, and Viktor & Rolf had those. But these trends pose difficulties in the execution, and the duo's focus on the technicalities of tricky zigzag and starburst cutouts overrode any sensible outcome in terms of wearability. Their off-putting commitment to silk fringing—cascading over dresses and blouses, and smothering the whole of one pantsuit—led to an even more obvious snag. Snoeren and Horsting say they believe in fashion escapism, but when their garments might get a woman caught up in her closet-door handle, they've reached the limit.
1 October 2006
For Viktor & Rolf, the backstory is at least half the fun. Case in point: their gimmick-laden new menswear. The collection was calledAnti-dote(just like V&R's new men's fragrance), and according to a preprepared statement, it advocated "escape from reality, escape from fashion, while also recognizing that there is no escape."They took that theme fairly literally. The chains of an escapologist trimmed the lapel of a jacket, trailed through belt loops, and appeared as a print on a T-shirt. And the straps of the straitjacket that bound Houdini when he was dunked in a trunk were duplicated in the latticework of a leather blouson.Just in case "escape but no escape" sounded too futile, there was also a subtext of "transformation, rebellion and freedom." The rebellion was expressed in graffiti tags, a bit of a stretch for the bespectacled Dutchmen. The idea of transformation, meanwhile, brought V&R back to magic, more-familiar ground for them. A jacket looked as though it had been sawed in half, then stitched back randomly by a mad magician. Perhaps he was the same illusionist who would choose to perform in the shimmery Jacquard tux.
12 July 2006
So normal, it's weird. That's the cumulative sensation that comes off Viktor & Rolf's ready-to-wear. This time, their straight-faced rendition of conservative Parisian fashion clichés was all about little black dresses, the French trench, the gray suit, and the crinolined Christian Dior evening dress. "We wanted a rigorous kind of elegance," they said in chorus. "But not soft. Like armor."The armored propriety was emphasized, rather disturbingly, by the face coverings, which started out as fishnet veils and progressed into basket-weave fencing masks. Meanwhile, a sound piece by Bruce Nauman featured a woman's voice speaking words that expressed a state of emotional sterility. "Don't touch," she intoned, while romantic music played in the background. "No communication of any kind. I can suck you dry." As a statement of antisexual isolation, it was pretty chilling.The air of art-house surrealism perhaps explains why the clothes were tinged with a literal stiffness of detail. In the first section, the pussycat bows, shirt frills, and flowered corsages on white-cuffed black dresses seemed to be made of some kind of bulky silver lamé. Later, the nipped-waist, circle-skirted trenchcoats, with furling collars and multipuffed sleeves appeared to have had their edges dipped in silver paint. They gave way to the dance-skirted cocktail dresses, one of which had a bustier as hard and metallic as a car fender. It was all, the designers explained, achieved by electroplating the fabric—a technique they'd borrowed from the European tradition of preserving baby shoes in silver.That slightly queasy, mummified touch—and the old-school fifties posturing of the models—took this show back to Viktor & Rolf's roots in conceptual couture. Still, this is a ready-to-wear collection, and that's the conundrum. Performance aside, most of these clothes will read on a retail rack as nothing more sinister than an exaggerated form of hyper-normal ladylike chic.
26 February 2006
That kiddie classic Playmobil is immensely popular in Europe, where, ever since the seventies, children have been turning flat, featureless, little plastic creatures into various characters with the addition of different click-on accessories. Now, thanks to Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, the figures appear to have become a comment on the genetic militarism of men.In a collection dominated by toy-bright reds and blues plus military tones, the designers focused on boyhood fantasies of grown-up power. A pair of trousers came with attached cowboy holsters and cartridge holder (the bullet that was thoughtfully included was engraved "Monsieur"). T-shirts were printed with a gun or a grenade (in fetching pink!). A Swiss Army knife appeared as a Pop Art multiple on a shirt. One jacket was woven with black-on-black Jacquard revolvers. Another, in beige cashmere cotton, had monochrome detailing like the braid on a general's jacket.Playmobil's click-ons were duplicated in surface adornments—ruffles, badges, military decorations—which Velcro-ed on and off. The company's exaggerated detailing was reflected in jeans with huge stitching. And the figures' two-dimensionality was apparent in lapels stitched flat to create a featureless plane. So, if you fancy evoking a plastic toy with your wardrobe for next fall, your options are obvious.
24 January 2006
When the catwalk's on the ceiling, and the show runs in reverse—starting with the designers taking their bow and the standard encore parade of models in bridal and eveningwear clapping their way along the runway—what show could it be other than Viktor & Rolf? It seemed a jolly jape in the beginning, what with all the fast-forward pace of it and Diana Ross singing "upside-down you're turning me" on the soundtrack. But just as the requisite notes on white gazar flounces, cream and gold charmeuse, and skinny tux looks were scribbled, and the crowd was floating along with the happy feeling they'd be out of there in a flash, the music started slurring and jerking like a sick headache.After the false start, a reincarnation of one of Viktor & Rolf's first huge, white ruffled couture art pieces appeared at the end of the runway, followed by upside-down satin gowns, upended tuxedos (jacket as trousers; pants as a bolero), twisted trenches, and sideway ensembles that looked like the models got their heads stuck in the wrong hole during a bout of too hasty dressing.Of course, this transpired as a commentary on the state of fashion from our Dutch surrealist friends, who have put their heads together to focus on the business of brand building."Fashion is running out of time," said Rolf Snoeren. "We are going too fast. Originality and patience is the only way to go forward." Thus, they also slipped in notes on how their signatures translate when they're upside-up, like the white camisole dress, the pretty things in champagne, ivory, and coffee, the white sleeveless summer pantsuit, or the ruffled blouse. And when they're set straight, (here's the real joke) they look just like supernormal clothes.
2 October 2005
After last season's salute to Dutch naval history, Viktor & Rolf stayed with the sturdy menfolk of the Low Countries for their new collection. Dutch farmers in their Sunday best inspired the waistcoats over full white shirts, the sober three-piece suit, the collar-and-wide tie. The washed, worn quality of the clothes hinted at proud men who don't own much, but take great care of it (just as the styling touch of rolled trousers suggested farm workers coping with a broken dike). And the designers attributed the grid pattern on shirts and sweaters to the natural geometry created by the ditches that divide farm fields in Holland.Still, the clothes didn't stray far from the omnipresent sea in a misty, watery, color scheme of grays, blues, and white, illuminated here and there by a faded tulip red. And that ol' naval influence made itself felt in a pea jacket with a swath of braided cord, the fitted top over full trousers apparently a traditional Dutch silhouette. A heavy chintz linen provided a glamorously glossy foundation for evening looks.
11 July 2005
Just as fashion fatigue threatened to set in at the collections, Viktor & Rolf dreamed up a fantasy solution: Why not go to work in your bed? Lily Cole, for one, appeared on set with her red hair splayed out on a pristine, lace-edged cotton pillow and a neatly folded-over sheet inserted into the neck of her coat. She led a troupe of fellow sleep-deprived models, all in V & R’s surprisingly chic renderings of bedclothes: shirts that were part sheets, with all the eyelet trims and frills intact; comforting duvet coats with huge wolf-trimmed collars; suits fashioned from quilts; and charmeuse boudoir sheets wrapped into evening dresses.The somnambulist girls circled a stage where Tori Amos sat at a grand piano, premiering a specially commissioned 15-minute composition set to the biblical words of the Song of Solomon. “I sleep walked, my heart waketh,” she sang, dramatically tossing her mane of crimped red locks. Sound mad? It was, but in a gentle sort of way. Fashion needs an occasional nudge of performance lunacy, if only to keep itself awake. And in any case, these days, Viktor & Rolf don’t allow surrealist antics to block the view of their increasingly accomplished way with smartly normal clothes.These included some of the season’s best black tuxedo pants, dashing black raincoats with fan-pleated storm flaps, and a pea coat with frilled edges. In the sheet department, shirts with broderie anglaise edgings and folded fronts were a great contribution to the season’s growing white shirt trend. And a beautiful charmeuse and lace gown (embroidered with a red rose, like a love token left on a pillow) proved that Viktor & Rolf are learning how to whip up dresses for a dreamy night.
1 March 2005
Never mind John Malkovich—imagine life inside the heads of Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren. Their career path has been a crazy paving of concepts, most involving elements of illusion and/or performance art, which is why Las Vegas made perfect sense as the backdrop for their charming, witty spring collection.The duo says this season's inspiration is Dutch naval history. Fans of the subject might feel the tang of the sea in the foggy colors, or the fishermen's sweaters with military detailing, or the crisscrossing cadet stripes on knitwear. But there's no escaping the fact that it just doesn't have the wow factor of Vegas. There's a new emphasis on commerce, rather than magic, which is no surprise: Viktor & Rolf is about to open its first store (this spring in Milan), and high concept hardly fills the tills.Nonetheless, lovers of the label's irony and idiosyncrasy will be happy to find the kind of finish that reflects their double take on fashion: subtle ruching or a turned-up cuff on a jacket sleeve, a double cuff on a shirt. And Dutch royalists may also be pleased to claim Horsting and Snoeren as fellow travelers. Viktor & Rolf's signature red wax seal is now gold, and they have created a family crest for themselves, which is writ large (on shirts) and small (as an emblem to replace the old magician motifs). There is also a sweater patterned after royal table linens.
16 January 2005
Viktor & Rolf's many fashion fans love the often disconcerting drama of their presentations. While that magic may have been missing in the past couple of seasons, it was back in full force for spring. To the sound of a military drum tattoo, the Dutch duo sent out an entirely black collection on an army of female fighter pilots, each clad in anonymous black helmets. The short leather trenches, jackets, and blouses had aggressive, rounded shoulders reminiscent of Claude Montana's eighties power-dressing, but with the very Viktor & Rolf addition of black satin ribbons, tied in bows.They developed that sense of increasingly sinister chic through a lineup of taffeta bombers with their signature ruffle neck, homage-to-YSL tuxedo suits, and Chanel-like bow-trimmed cotton jackets. As the show drew to a close, with the sound of helicopters beating overhead, the ribbons became more and more vast, dementedly winding themselves around the last model like some surreal Brobdingnagian gift-wrap.Then, just as it seemed that Viktor & Rolf had gone over to the dark side, the stage revolved—and the world turned pink. "Flowerbomb, Flowerbomb, Flowerbomb," breathed a woman's voice, as a second collection of gowns and suits, all in shades of rose and touches of light beige, paraded the runway. By that time, the penny had dropped. The incantation on the soundtrack is, of course, the name of the new Viktor & Rolf fragrance. The bombardment of color, and the surreal sight of a woman with her head tied in a florist's bag, sent the audience into the slightly hysterical roar of appreciation that marks the climax of a good Viktor & Rolf experience. To finish it off, the extraordinary pair appeared in matching tuxedos, striking a debonair pose in front of the new Flowerbomb ad. Their particular formula of odd-funny sensory and intellectual overload is just the sort of thing that makes Paris remarkable. "We believe in the power of transforming anything into beauty," Viktor Horsting said afterward. "And we all need an extra dose of that these days."
5 October 2004
As fashion's premier illusionists, it was only a matter of time before Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren got around to using real magic as their inspiration. The top hat graphic that appeared on their original Monsieur print now has a rabbit popping out of it, along with a fan of cards and other symbols of the prestidigitator's trade. Las Vegas in the fifties, the design duo's dream locale for their spring collection, allowed them to fully exercise their ironic appreciation of all things American. They designed a tuxedo for the working magician, but they also provided him with a full range of slightly twisted leisurewear: peach tennis shorts, denim golf pants (embroidered in red with the rabbit and top hat), and a bowling shirt. Playing with the classics as usual, they cut the tails off a tail coat and offered it as a garment-dyed cotton jacket, with a pocket hidden under the lapel making an ideal cache for a trump card. Prince of Wales silk-linen suits, meanwhile, were sprayed with gold and silver paint to give them a rich metallic sheen. Magic!
4 July 2004
Viktor & Rolf's audience is still trying to adjust to the Dutch duo's surprising segue into commercial clothes. After the recent 10-year retrospective of their ultra avant-garde work, the pair moved on to a new phase: producing their version of real-life fashion. Their fall show featured headgear that was still up there in the conceptual ether—antlers for some, Bambi sprouts for others—and a soundtrack that added the threat of hunters' gunfire. But underneath, all the clothes were reworkings of regular garments. As Rolf Snoeren explained, "We wanted to create a sort of fashion fairy tale. We've always loved classics and we think they are something special, which should be protected."The walk in the woods began with a sensible loden, high-collared belted coat. It was followed by an outfit that, in its way, commented on all the ladylike silhouette-crafting that's going on in the fashion mainstream: a bolero jacket over a ribbed gray turtleneck and a wrap skirt fastened with a sparkling jewel. A camel car coat with a double collar was a reminder of the exaggerated multi-lapels the designers have piled on in former times; the device reappeared later, much watered-down, in double-fronted shirts. For all their reputation as out-there performance artists, Viktor Horsting and Snoeren are now displaying a canny knack for trend. Wide-leg pants, newly emerged this season, were in their collection, nicely done in fluid tuxedo suits. Ditto, brooches—great, big rose sprigs or slightly sinister oversized spiders were pinned to the breasts of coats or at the throat on scarves.Perhaps all this connectedness is down to the guys' decision to get out of the house more. Like the thorough students they are, they recently embarked on a fact-finding mission to the Golden Globes to research Hollywood celebrity. The results could be seen at the end of their show, in a series of glamour gowns. Swarovksi glitter sheaths came out swathed in chiffon, emerald charmeuse goddess gowns were studded with golden jewels, and plunging black lace floated over nude linings.Something, however, is slightly wrong with this picture—and one can never help suspecting (hoping, even) that the effect is a conscious stroke of irony. Because the last thing anyone needs to see is a pair of extraordinary talents like Horsting and Snoeren—designers who have blown our minds in the past—subsiding into something indistinguishable from normality.
4 March 2004
Here’s what fashion people expect of a Viktor & Rolf show: surreal twists on convention and mind-bending sculptural exaggerations of normal clothing, ending in a crescendo of all-out applause for the quiet genius of the straight-faced Dutch duo. In a week when the two have celebrated their ten-year collaboration with an exhibition of their impressive body of work at the Musée de la Mode, the anticipation of the Spring show was ratcheted even higher than usual.Strangely, though, this collection somehow failed to rise to the occasion. The well-established signatures—masculine/feminine tailoring, denims, and details like big, overblown bows—ranged the runway in many variations, but a high concept never quite materialized. A lot of audience second-guessing went on as the show progressed. Was this Viktor & Rolf’s statement of post-conceptual commerciality? Were all the big white shirts and softened shapes their new ironic take on bourgeois ordinariness? If so, many of the pieces were rather too literally banal to jolt a reaction.The designers’eveningwear picked up strength, with versions of tuxedo jackets cut so as to hang off the shoulder (a dangling motif that is recurring throughout the Spring collections). More promising still were the interpretations of grand 1950’s tulle evening gowns, their skirts morphed onto men’s dinner suits. At a time when young avant-garde designers are reinvestigating the beauty of traditional Parisian couture, that was a tantalizing contribution to the season. But it left Viktor & Rolf’s fans longing for more.
9 October 2003
Copper-haired and milk-pale, British actress Tilda Swinton appeared at Viktor & & Rolf in a slightly different role from her usual turn. As designer muse, Swinton strolled down the runway in a black pantsuit with a deep, swooping curve of a collar to the soundtrack of her own cut-glass voice advising, “Follow your own path.” That was the opening scene of a return performance of the Dutch double-act's finest ideas, distilled over a decade. "It's our tenth anniversary already," said Viktor Horsting. "We wanted to do all our signatures, with the menswear and the couture influences, for an ageless modern woman."By focusing on dressing Tilda—an army of Tildas, in fact—the collection elegantly bridged the divide between high concept and wearability. Every model was made over as a Swinton clone, then put into revisited versions of the white shirts, jeans, tailoring, bourgeois dresses and exploding multilayer shapes that have marked Viktor & Rolf's greatest hits.The calmed-down experimentalism panned out into an exceptional kind of refinement, perfectly in sync with the current mood. Face-framing lapels and collars (a look of the season) were set into everything from jean jackets to parkas and mannish shirts. Pewter and black satin shirtdresses with slashed sleeves, ribbed trapunto collars, shoulder patches and zip-up pockets walked a delicate line between ladylike and hip. A quiet gray chiffon column over a brown T-shirt, tethered with a slim leather belt, was one of the coolest notions of evening dress for fall.Scattered among these were incredible attention grabbers. Pushing layering and falling-off-the-shoulder to their conceptual limits, Viktor & Rolf made outfits with five shirt collars peeling back, one atop the other. One girl appeared with eight men's jackets stacked on her shoulders. A giant, inflated silk-moiré bubble acted as a bolero–cum–down jacket on another. These were all insider references to the body of work the avant-garde pair has amassed up to now. The excitement was seeing how they channeled all that originality into the real world.
7 March 2003
Viktor & Rolf enigmatically named their collection "long live the immaterial." It was hard to decipher precisely what that meant since the collection was full of rather heavy materials—wool, pinstripes, fur, velvet, crochet. The designers' talent for earnest experimentalism with traditional elements was funneled into a single device this season; they highlighted all-black outfits with bits of vivid royal blue so that the epaulettes, collars, bib shirt fronts and belts popped out in radiant color.The designers showed a bit of their playful side with jackets ornamented by absurdly-inflated cargo pockets. But otherwise, the collection had an almost disturbing degree of bourgeois propriety about it. Harlequin patterns of the sort normally seen on golf sweaters were blown up for patchwork fur and wool skirts and big mufflers. Paisley showed up on soft brown wool pants suits, and then in a stately blue velvet gown topped by an enormous coat with matching paisley lining.Perhaps the show's title referred more to the backdrop—aerial photos of the Manhattan skyline at night, Texas oil fields, cotton fields, and traffic. For a charming, if unfathomable finale, the designers appeared in matching blue pajama suits while their disembodied heads floated among stars on the screens.
8 March 2002
How could Dutch duo Viktor & Rolf possibly follow their triumphant, all-black fall exploration of volumes and silhouettes? How else but with an effervescent, all-white spring exploration of… volumes and silhouettes.Huge silver organ pipes provided a stunning backdrop for prim Balenciaga-inspired 1940's boxy jackets with oversize buttons, lace dresses with built-in belts, and bow-covered suits. The tuxedo—a mandatory piece in every Viktor & Rolf collection—came in white and silver brocade, with a tidal wave of ruffles crashing forth from within its lapels. A rope-piped pantsuit, several heart-printed trousers and plenty of sheer shirts looked like commercial hits, but the truly outstanding items were the immense, double-and-triple-waist pleated skirts and massively oversized shirts and jackets. These sculptural masterpieces could easily pass as extravagant bridal dresses—not to mention being mistaken for particularly sumptuous wedding cakes.“The collection is about love and goodness and being positive—that's all we can really say about it,” said Rolf after the show. “For us, the medium is the message.”
5 October 2001
"We were inspired by black holes, which absorb all light and energy," explained a dead-serious, soot-covered Rolf backstage. "We wanted to transform negative feelings into something positive and creative."If only everyone's stress-management techniques were as fruitful. Working exclusively in black (just ask the painted models, who were struggling with cold cream and reams of tissues after the show), and touching upon the best of masters like Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy, the Dutch duo delivered one of the strongest, bravest collections of the season.In what amounted to an exhaustive exploration of volumes, Viktor and Rolf showed everything from enormous, flared-sleeve gowns and coats to fitted shirts with massive collars that accommodated gargantuan scarves and ties. Asymmetric dresses were gently ruched at the side and paired with cropped jackets that morphed into flowing, capelike wraps; skinny pinstripe trousers looked anything but ordinary with a matching padded vest that created a top-heavy silhouette. Pleated and ruffled shirts, leather-striped jeans, sharp denim blazers and shiny shirtdresses showed that Viktor and Rolf can provide everyday clothes without sacrificing an ounce of creativity.
9 March 2001
There's no business like show business: At a grand old theater on Avenue Wagram, Viktor & Rolf staged a tap-dancing event in the best tradition of Hollywood's golden years.A procession of nimble, nubile girls with Louise Brooks bobs and glittering eyelashes high-kicked, stomped and shimmied their way onto the stage, wearing beige, white and light-denim pantsuits, Mackintoshes and pleated shorts. Silver trims on lapels and cuffs, and scalloped edges and ruffles on pristine white shirts, shone in the spotlight. Black tuxedos with wide pants looked adorable rather than severe when accessorized with delicate hair bows; fitted black suits dazzled with white piping. To close the show, the designers themselves took to the stage and executed a perfect dance routine. Nowthat'sentertainment!The event was an undisputed crowd pleaser: At one point, as the music segued from "Singing in the Rain" to a bizarre tap/hip-hop redux, André Leon Talley, Isabella Blow and Mario Testino all jammed discreetly in their seats. Best of all, we can be sure that Viktor & Rolf's clothes look good on women of all sizes—there was not a 6-foot supermodel in sight. All of the girls on stage were dance students from the Lucia Marthas academy in Holland.
7 October 2000
As the luxury industry consolidated in the late nineties, haute couture was becoming not only a creative laboratory, but also a brilliant trickle-down marketing tool. The addition of the Dutch duoRolf SnoerenandViktor Horstingto the show schedule was unusual, as was their arty approach to the age-old métier. Five years into their career, they wowed the fashion crowd with their Russian Doll collection of Fall 1999. In place of a traditional catwalk show, they dressed the model Maggie Rizer, who stood on a rotating platform, in a succession of garments, the first being a humble, frayed minidress of hessian sackcloth, and the last, a mountainous, flower-festooned cape coat. Not only did it quite literally showcase the hand (or in this case, hands) of the designer in the making of fashion, it was also a comment on the merry-go-round cycle of fashion and consumption.André Leon Talleycalled the collection, “The Viagra of couture week.”
4 July 1999