Viktor&Rolf

A meditation on a contemporary obsession. 

 

Viktor&Rolf’s Autumn/Winter 2014 Haute Couture collection is executed entirely in red carpet - and shown on a red carpet – creating a transformation from carpet to couture. The designs allude to the spontaneous gesture of primitive clothing construction – asymmetric, wrapped, knotted – while blending into classic couture references. Animal skin motifs – leopard, zebra, and giraffe – are executed in shaved and laboriously hand-appliquéd carpet, which takes up to 300 hours per look to complete. The collection forms a surreal reference to fur as camouflage; as an ancient indigenous clothing material, as well as to animal print as the archetypal epitome of glamour.

This couture season marks the continuation of the collaboration with Atelier Swarovski, with the introduction of a special preview  – a red velvet flocked bracelet – crafted specifically for this couture collection. “We are excited to continue our collaboration with Swarovski” say Viktor and Rolf, “no red carpet is complete without the matching jewels”.

Accompanied by the rhythmic sound of Steve Reich’s Clapping Music, the space transforms into the scene of a red carpet défilé made possible by the contribution of Dutch carpet manufacturer, Desso. Of the collaboration Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren said: “This is something that has never been done before, we are excited to have found a fantastic partner to make our red carpet dressing vision come true”

The event was hosted at La Gaite Lyrique, 3BIS Rue Papin 75003, Paris on Wednesday July 9th at 8:00PM.