Viktor & Rolf Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2011

Today Dutch designer-duo Viktor & Rolf presented a summer collection inspired by the plain white shirt and the striped banker shirt. Two very masculine and minimalistic items, which the designers managed to transform into a very feminine collection.

Their ‘shirt symphony’ started with several blue and white looks. They all had multiple collars and cuffs on them, each one a little bigger than the one before.

Shirt tails for a change were not hidden, but popped up from under the legs of mini shorts at the front and the back. They were extremely long, reaching to the models ankles.

The color palette changed from blue to black, orange and turquoise. Only a few stripes and a zebra print were added, letting the fantastic clothes speak for themselves.

In a few black and white as well as in some turquoise and black designs Viktor & Rolf brought stretch (= tight-fitting) jersey and voluminous shiny silk together in a way only they can do that.

For the finale they even created more volume and took the masculine/feminine theme of their show to its extreme. White bridal gowns came down the runway perfectly matching the soundtrack of the show (Billy Idol – White Wedding). Their  lace embroideries, multiple layers, cuffs and collars were a perfect ending of, yet another, great Viktor & Rolf show.

Viktor & Rolf Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The overall message this season is redefining contemporary dressing. And Viktor & Rolf  practice this message since they started designing menswear. Their hero for the summercollection 2011 was a 1940’s moviestar on vacation at Biarritz. In his suitcase he got a streamlined suit with elongated jackets and wider lapels – sometimes in contrasting colors, piped or with sequins -,  short sleeved sweaters, a bermuda and leather sandals.

Viktor & Rolf chose typical summer fabrics like seersucker and a madras-check. Colors were kept light, as in white, chocolate-brown, blue and gray. Patent-leather shoes in blue, black and white contrasted with the beige and black/blue.

Singer/performer La Roux (aka Elly Jackson) appeared as their special guest at the Monsieur -show. Viktor & Rolf: “When we first saw La Roux on TV, we were immediately drawn to her.  We were intrigued by the way she plays with expectations about gender and we love her authentic way of dressing.  Her boyish attitude mixed with her high-pitched voice creates a great contradiction.  We had this vision to dress her in our Monsieur line, but made to measure for her and that’s what we’ve done: a blue silk jacket with a black top and black tuxedo pants.  We consider it menswear, adapted to a woman.”

La Roux said “I was thrilled to be asked to play at Viktor & Rolf’s Paris show. I’m a very big fan of theirs and for me it’s a natural fit, my music and their style. I look forward to future collaborations with them.” La Roux performed an exclusive acoustic set for the designers and their audience.

Viktor & Rolf – Backstage – FW2010

During the V&R show there was not as much excitement backstage as there usually would be. The reason for this, of course, was the fact that Viktor and Rolf were dressing their models on stage, in stead of backstage. It took away a lot of the tension behind the scenes, but on the catwalk the pressure was on!

With each outfit Viktor and Rolf had to put on one of the models we were worried whether or not they would make it in time. And fortunately they did. All the dressing and undressing was done in about twenty minutes.

Of course backstage a lot of the preparations were done. Viktor and Rolf had to be able to easily take off the many coats Kirsten McMenamy wore. So they shouldn’t be too tightened. V&R had to know exactly what to do with each dress too, so the rehearsals were more than necessary. Also, the models that walked in the second half of the show did have to be dressed before entering the catwalk (they were going to be undressed by V&R).

Though well-known models like Karlie Kloss, Mirte Maas and Patricia van der Vliet walked in the show. They were hardly recognizable. They all wore caps and sunglasses and had large ponytails. Their make-up was plain: bleached eyebrows, light-colored lips and a rather pale skin tone. So the make-up wasn’t too special but the spectacular show totally made up for that.

Viktor & Rolf FW2010: transformation

The performance/show of Viktor & Rolf yesterday was about dressing and undressing, the whole machinery of fashion, the guts to wear something BIG and exaggerated. Especially the last transformation blew the audience’s mind: the big tulle skirt that the designers transformed into a huge cape/collar that was the topping on the last outfit.

A true fashion-moment.

Viktor & Rolf Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

It was the show we were all waiting for for a few seasons. A real Viktor & Rolf show, which gives you goose pimples, makes you cry a little and wonder for a few moments what the designers’ message was.

Supermodel of the eighties Kristen McMenamy took the centerstage as a stationary mannequin dressed in 12 layers of coats, jackets and one or  two dresses. The two designers undressed her on a rotating part of the runway by taking off one layer at the time and put that layer on a model who showed it walking along the catwalk. The second half of the show the designers put another 12 layers back on McMenamy.

The collection was mostly black with silver and white as contrasting elements. The focus was at big coats, sporty outerwear like anoraks, nylon/silk dresses, transparent shirts and short dresses.

The most interesting part of this performance was the way it affected the audience. I was feeling stressed and wanted the designers to hurry and get ready before the other model arrived with another layer to put on. But Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren worked in their own pace and it looked like a well-oiled machine.

I waited 3/4 of an hour backstage to get a comment of the designers on their collection, but too many people wanted to shake their hands and too many celebs needed a picture. So I’ll try to make a little translation myself: was this collection about the whole fashion-system as a machinery, all the little parts that make the whole machine going? The walls and catwalk were covered with paper designed by Studio Job with graphics referring to tools, machines, factories etcetera. Or was this also about the clothes were zippers and straps transformed the silhouettes or which were totally convertible themselves ?

A press release e-mailed after the show explained that the concept was an expansion of the couture show the duo staged ten years ago with Maggie Rizer as the Russian doll. “This time around, we wanted to show the possibility to be BOTH wearable AND extreme at the same time!” Ah.

At the end of the show the audience felt almost relieved that the designers made it till the end and the final outfit blew everybody’s mind. The cheering and applause was well deserved.

Paris Catwalk Fashion Show fw2010: Viktor & Rolf Monsieur

It was the first time since Viktor & Rolf introduced their menswear-collection Monsieur in 2003 that the Dutch duo held a show in Paris. It was a small, intimate show with music of one single guitarplayer and totally different from their big womenswear-presentations.

The Monsieur-collection lies close to what the designers like themselves, a mix of streetwear and tailored suits with a touch of the unexpected. For next fall Viktor & Rolf unveiled a refined collection in a dark (mostly black) color palette mixing formal and casual, ranging from quilting and trousers with elasticated cuffs and a focus at the dinner jacket.  Splashes of black paint were on the floor but also at trousers, a models’ face and in silver on a T-shirt.The unexpected lies in the layering and mix of different textures and fabrics. Of course the collection has all the ingredients of next fall: the large, comfy cardigan, the suit, the knits, the boots, the grays and the blacks.

Catwalktrends ss2010: showstopping shoes

The designers gave the models a hard time walking the runway to show the spring/summer collections. The shoes they had to wear often had eye-catching shapes and heights.

The shoes in the Jil Sander show had iron pins for heels. Donatella Versace used platform shoes. John Galliano’s shoes were extremely high and his stiletto heels seemed to be made of colored pearls. Chanel introduced a few clogs.

Some models in the Dsquared show had spikes all over their shoes. Viktor & Rolf embellished theirs with pink flowers, Vivienne Westwood decorated hers with wings. Matthew Williamson’s shoes had bows.

Next to the ultra high shoes we saw ultra-flat sandals (Issey Miyake, Anna Sui, Valentino, Lacoste, Etro, Armani, Chloe). Those sandals, snake leather and wearing socks in open shoes seem to become the trends for this spring.

Of course the Alexander McQueen shoes were real showstoppers. His shoes were high, had crazy alienated shapes and had reptile prints all over them. Gaga oehlala…

Trends ss2010: fashionably exposed

Together with the nudes there’s a a lot of semi-nudity for next summer-season too.

Many designers worked with sheer and airy fabrics. Through these light fabrics the models’ skins were visible most of the time. At Giambattista Valli, YSL, Michael Kors, Sonia Rykiel and House of Holland the models’ breasts could clearly be seen through their designs.

Almost every piece of clothing came by in a transparent version. Roberto Cavalli even designed a few see-through pants. Valentino’s shiny, ruffled and transparent materials were made into super sexy party dresses. And Donnatella Versace created a few sheer evening gowns in pastel shades.

The sheer fabrics were often layered or draped. Viktor & Rolf used multiple transparent layers, becoming non-transparent by this application. Riccardo Tisci beautifully draped his sheer fabrics for Givenchy.

Apart from the delicate ultra-thin fabrics we could see some body-exposing nettings (Jil Sander, Sonia Rykiel, Just Cavalli) as well.

So, for next season don’t be afraid to show some skin. And if you are, just follow the example of Viktor & Rolf and wear lots of layers.

Tess van Daelen

Trends ss2010: goddess glamour

Next season shoulders are getting some extra attention in several different ways. We’ve seen shoulderpads, shoulder cut-outs,  adorned shoulders and one-shoulder dresses.

Many designers gave their own interpretation to the one-shoulder dress. Most often they put all their creativity in the dress’s one shoulder. They gave that one shoulder lots of layers, ruffles and draping so it really stood out and made up for the missing one.

During the Iceberg fashion-show shoulders were emphasized in many ways. The colorful one-shoulder dresses seemed to be the highlight of the show. At Lanvin the shoulders got a mix of ruffles and layers.

Sonia Rykiel showed a one-shoulder dress with bows all the way to the top.The shoulder on one of Viktor & Rolf’s designs (made out of hundreds of layers of tulle) reached as high as the model’s head.

Most one-shoulder designs looked sexy, summery and a bit Roman/Greek.

Tess van Daelen

Trends ss2010: shoulders up!

A few seasons on the runway shoulderpads now definitely hit the stores. While the crowd is taking over this trend, great designers are exaggerating their focus on shoulders and having fun with it. Their pointy or extremely round shoulders are lifted, thickened, adorned and made visible through transparent fabrics. At Balmain’s show the shoulders were still the main aspect of the collection. For 2010 Christophe Decarnin added some fringes on his military jackets for Balmain. The shoulders at the Comme des Garcons show were purposely put in all the wrong places (at the models’ breasts or backs). The brand thus made fun of the whole shoulderpad-trend. The actual shoulderpads were visible through the sheer designs of Jean Paul Gaultier, Viktor & Rolf and Sonia Rykiel. What type of shoulder will they come up with next season? (Tess van Daelen)

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