Viktor&rolf: Fashion Artists

Viktor&rolf’s unique fashions come to the NGV this month under the curation of Thierry-maxime Loriot, who shares his insights on the Dutch duo with Delima Shanti

LAST TIME WE spoke to curator Thierry-maxime Loriot, he was busy getting ready for the blockbuster The Fashion World

of Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition. Back then, he was a relative unknown in curatorial circles who put together what ended up being the most visited fashion exhibition in history, which toured for five years and attracted over two million visitors. Today, he’s gearing up for his second major fashion show, a presentation of the avant-garde creations by Dutch designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren of international fashion house Viktor&rolf. “It’s important for me to work with artists who have a different vision of beauty and craftsmanship. I like the rebels, I’m not interested in classicism,” Loriot says. “Viktor and Rolf aren’t just designers, they are fashion artists; they just express their ideas with textiles.” One of their best known statements were the tulle ball gowns from the spring 2010 ready-to-wear collection, which looked like someone had hacked away at them with a samurai sword. “This collection came out of the global recession when everyone, including the fashion industry, were feeling the pinch,” Loriot explains. Horsting and Snoeren’s reaction to the economic cutbacks was to literally cut into the solid mass of ruffles. Viktor and Rolf emerged from the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design in the Netherlands in the early 1990s. “They’re the punks of the fashion industry: they work without historical references from past trends, they don’t dress celebrities at the red carpet, and they often work backwards from the show concept before they develop the collection.” Viktor&rolf: Fashion Artists will feature 35 haute couture pieces from the designers’ 20-year career and replicas of antique dolls dressed in the designers’ iconic looks. ■ ÀNGV International, 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne 3000. www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Daily 10am-5pm. $8-$18. Oct 21-Feb 26.