To write about this has been on my agenda too long. Just saw the images on my machine again and had to post this now. Beginning of this year we went to the Centraal Museum in Utrecht to visit the biggest overview exhibition of Viktor and Rolf ever shown in Holland. In retrospective the highlights of 15 years of their work was presented. The influence of this duo has been huge and we’ve been a fan of their conceptual and ironic approach towards fashion and the way they communicate their ideas in their typical surreal esthetic.
The Barbican Art Gallery in London invited Viktor and Rolf to compose an overview exhibtion of their work and after this London success it was now transported to Utrecht.
In style of their collections, also the exhibition itself wasn’t an average one; an enormous doll house contained a collection of 55 handmade porcelain dolls. Each of them dressed in an exact copy of the original look as in the Paris catwalk show at the time. Even the hair and make-up are copied with all details…crazy:
This was one part of the exhibition. The other part was a bigger overview of all their collections during the years, shown on scaled up human sized porcelain dolls, copied from the dolls house. This effect was really stunning and surreal.I’ll show some of the highlights:
“The Fashion Show” AW07-08:
For this collection Viktor and Rolf used the ‘fashionshow’ itself as starting point for their collection. Each model is dressed up in a way that she forms her own autonomous catwalkshow, playing with light and soundconstructions that become part of the silhouet:
“Atomic Bomb” AW98-99:
At the end of the 90’s the new millenium was the head topic in the news. Viktor and Rolfs collection Atomic Bomb played with two scenarios of what the new millenium would bring; the end of the world or the biggest party ever. The translation of these two contrasts resulted in the silhouet of an atomic cloud created by party goods like balloons, pompons, flags etc:
“Viktor and Rolf on strike” AW96-97:
They couldn’t settle with the ‘laws’ of the fashion industry to present and produce a new collection each season. They were dissapointed with the lack of media attention and rebelled with a strike; they sended this leaflet to all fashion magazines and pasted the Paris walls during fashionweek ‘96 with it:
“Bells” AW00-01:
Their fifth haute couture collection was a multi sensorial experience; The show was staged in a way that the audience would hear the garments before they could see them. The models were only visible for some seconds, before dissapearing into the mist again, wearing garment completely embroidered with copper bells:
“Flowerbomb” SS05:
This was one of their most extravagant and most important shows in their carreer so far. The show starts with only black garments, from sober jackets to enormous ribbons that completely cover the models that all wear blinded motorhelmets. The show seems to be finished when all models freeze in a tableau vivant. Then the complete stage rotates 180% and an exact positive mirrored image of all models is shown, in numerous coloured pink and gold ribbons and knots:
Have a look at the video and you see what I mean:
“One Woman Show” AW03-04:
After Viktor and Rolf met Tilda Swinton at their ‘Russian Doll’ show, they became friends and dressed her for some important premieres and awards. Highlight in this collaboration was this collection dedicated to this actress. All models were made up and cut as Tilda, who also walked as a model in this show as well:
“Russian Doll” AW99-00:
Instead of a fashionshow in which each model wears one outfit, Viktor and Rolf presented this complete collection on one model in a complete different format then usual. The model stepped upon a rotating platform only wearing the first outfit, slowly being dressed by the designers themselves in 8 layers of couture dresses. Each layer was a preparation for the other. In this way they created a reversed matroesjka, russian doll:
“L’Hiver de l’Armour” 94:
This was their very first installation, as part of a groups exhibition in Musee d’Art Moderne in Paris. This installation was a signal that they left the esthetics of deconstructivism behind and based their pieces on historical costumes from the French Emperors:
“Launch” 96:
Viktor and Rolf have always been critical against the fashion industry, while at the same time longing for success and acceptation in exactly that world. ‘Launch’ was first shown in Torch Gallery in Amsterdam in ‘96 and shows their ambitions for the future. At the time they were beginning artists, looking for a way to realise their dreams. In this installation they’ve visualised their dream, a fashion house including studio, catwalkshow, photography sessions and own boutique, in miniature. Perfume is the ultimate symbol of success of a fashion house, so they’ve created ‘Le Parfum’; a fictive perfume released as a limited 250 pieces edition. It wasn’t possible to open the bottle…or you had to break it:
“Bedtime Story” AW05-06:
After the extravaganza of ‘Flowerbomb’ they withdraw into a place a peace, a place to sleep and to love; the bedroom…
“No” AW08-09:
Their personal frustration towards the industry that led to their ‘on strike’ expression, comes back in this collection. The fastness and money that controls the industry made them say ‘No’:
“Pierrot” SS08:
Inspired by the famous French mimeplayer Marcel marceau, Pierrot and harlequin, more often used in their collections:
‘Long Live the Immaterial” Aw02-03:
For this collection the designers used bluescreen technology to create different fabric expressions on the blue garments. On huge screens at the back of the show the blue parts of the garments were replaced by images from nature and urban environments, as in the film industry:
These were some highlights I’ve selected. Their was much much to see and read. You can discuss about their ideas and their collections, some are stronger then others, but when you see this overview of what they’ve created and achieved in these 15 years, there’s one word: impressive. We’re a proud country:
