Viktor & Rolf
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren created the entire collection from the same fabric: a technical satin duchesse from Japan, a noble cloth that for the design duo “spells couture.”
“We’ve noticed in our career we often set ourselves certain restrictions, and it generates creativity for us,” Snoeren said backstage.
The design duo ticked off a run of best-of silhouettes while they were at it. The opening woven minidress recalled the hessian dress worn by Maggie Rizer in the label’s fall 1999 collection, for instance, with signature elements like cape shapes, flowers, bows, frills and ruffles adding texture to the collection.
Long silk gowns and skirts cut on the bias sported bold colored stripes or geometric motifs sewn into the fabric, recalling granny patchworks.
The standouts included a double-breasted blue and red striped blazer with a royal-blue frill framing it, running from the collar down the sleeves.
The collection had an old-school couture vibe but was wearable, with the highlights including a green silk minidress with 3-D daisies.
The newness in the colorful lineup mixing conservative and clownish attitudes came not only in the innovation, with the designers managing to create new materials using the fabric, but also in its sustainable bent.
“In the past seasons we’ve been working on conscious design, you have something and you make it work, and in this case we said to each other, we have one fabric, let’s make it work,” Horsting said. “Make more out of less was the [thinking] behind it.” Mission accomplished. — Katya Foreman