Armed with shocking ideas, design duo Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren continued the concept of “Voyage” for the Fall/Winter 2020 collection. They have brought incongruity and contrast to the Viktor & Rolf Spring/Summer 2021 collection.
With “Couture Rave” as the season’s theme, it represents another fashion circus in addition to the art of stitching.
Viktor & Rolf is a two-person designers team founded by Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren from the Netherlands. In 1992, after graduating from the Academy of Fine Art in Arnhem, they talked about working together. They then moved to Paris the following year. From there, they consequently built the brand carrying their names without hesitation.
They described this season’s haute couture collection to Vogue magazine as a “couture rave.” Indeed, the pair deliver only positivity. The collection, besides rejecting negative thoughts, challenges the very idea of what haute couture is.
Rolf Snoeren said to Vogue, “For this season, we were in the mood for something obviously opposite. Something that’s basically an escape into a party atmosphere.” To which Viktor Horsting added, “We noticed we were doom scrolling. And we felt we needed, as creators, to offer something lighthearted and something with a lot of energy and power.”
Viktor & Rolf Spring/Summer 2021 Couture Collection
“Fashion is the antidote to reality.”
Indeed, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have always pursued fashion by rejecting the normal concept. Similarly, they bring each design with their creative soul. They present various forms of their design through a variety of unique inspirations.
Couture is traditionally handmade and elegant. Known for its sophisticated style and bespoke tailoring, Viktor & Rolf did the opposite this season.
Besides the silhouette being somewhat repetitious, the elements and materials shown above are different.
With their best design techniques, they collected some materials from the archives. Viktor and Rolf gradually reconstructed the 21 sets for this series. They added some embellishments, sweatshirts, and scrap of striking fabrics.
In addition to combining unrelated objects, for Victor & Rolf, this season created conflicting excitement.
Though each couture is handcrafted, they did it in an “almost do-it-yourself in spirit” way. By assembling separates, the collection offers a circus vibe. With a touch of youthful diversity, they have deconstructed the traditional ideas you find in couture. When they created the series, they combine all possible elements. Although met with complexities, a new concept was born.
Viktor & Rolf Spring/Summer 2021 Couture Highlights
An abandoned Cold War ammunition factory which they transformed into a contemporary art space, was their runway.
The building remains a relic of its age. The ruins, the gold walls made of ammunition, and the hint of corruption are some of the features that attracted the designers. They believed it echoes the eye-catching visual elements of this season’s collection.
In this series, they used the existing leftover fabric in the reconstruction process.
For this season, in addition to the vivid colors, the great spring atmosphere helps give positive energy.
The design also adapts to the currently popular concept of sustainable environmental practices.
Accordingly, with vibrant designs, shocking combinations, uncut thread, the look is like a random collage. Different approaches to stitching, contouring, and cutting give couture a fresh vibe. This breakthrough design’s key role is from the imagination and fantasies about the universe’s beauty and uncertainty. The charm and chaos of an “unfinished” handmade art make it even more unique.
Victor & Rolf Spring/Summer 2021 Handcrafted Couture
Haute couture does not always conform to sophistication. It can also be stubborn and unpredictable. Like today’s youth, they may not be perfect but still gorgeous and interesting.
Viktor & Rolf has always challenged the haute couture concept. In fact, they do not conform to the conventional definition. They even use the idea of a circus in their designs.
Today, in addition to provocative designs, vivid colors, intricate details, and exaggerated decoration, the designer duo seems keener to integrate the spirit of play in the design. Handcrafted, the young characteristics of cute and sweet youth are their interpretation of high fashion diversity.
While expressing a positive and optimistic attitude, the designers call on people to abandon negative thoughts. Thus, they recommend escaping to a festive party atmosphere.
As Viktor Horsting said, “As creators, we need to provide something that is lighthearted, energized, and motivating.”
