A touch of Dutch

Above Image: Thanks to Rod Edmonds & Kate Rodger for the special issue of
Dazed Digital (For more images follow link - MORE ON V&R.


I may have been slightly freaked out by the dolls faces at the Viktor and Rolf Exhibition but I was at the same time extremely touched, overwhelmed and inspired especially by the weird and genius idea's that rested in confidence behind the magnificent collections. Viktor and Rolf's work may have been seen to be a little bit over the top over the year's, but the designers have now finally managed to finely tune their ideas and the ways of putting their work together. For every collection there was a reason or meaning behind it. It would take great understanding and knowledge of these two to truly appreciate the work of Viktor and Rolf and I must say this exhibition in particular was an intensely eye-opening experience and it surely deepend my knowledge of the many ways that can be used to define and create clothing today.

The exhibition greets us with a stunning embellished gown on a life size mannequin, dazzling away in its glory at the beginning of the showcase. We see the campaign poster of the Viktor and Rolf Strike of Autumn/Winter 96-97, the stand with their perfume of 1996 'Launch' and then miniature dolls start to appear. Veering onto the right - there stands the gigantic, breathtakingly astonishing 'Dolls house' at the centre of the gallery with all its little people in; all dressed up in smaller versions of the key looks from most of V&R's shows. 'Wow, that is amazing' were the words that came out of my mouth at this sight. I was really impressed at thought of all the time, effort and hard work that must have gone into all the days and years of creating and producing such magnificent results and then taking it all and putting its understanding into one place. There was the Stars and Stripes from their first Ready-to-wear collection in 2000, Atomic Bomb (AW/98-99) - a collection that concerned itself with challenging scenarios and inspired by the millennium toying on the idea of the end of the world and the biggest party ever, Russian Doll a collection that carried pieces that were made of a utility fabric 'jute' which was embellished in crystals and the dresses which were made to fit on-top of each other like pieces to a puzzle, Bells of 2000-01 which had garments that were embellished with bells hence the name.., the immaterial Bluescreen of AW/02-03 which played on the idea of something that was 'immaterial' using bluescreen technology. My favs were 'Flowerbomb' obviously and the sweet and enchanting perfume itself 'flowerbomb', Harlequin (SS/08), Silver (2006-07), Black hole 0f 2001-02 ( kinda scary but surprisingly I understood it therefore like it), The intimate 'Bedtime story' (2005-6) and Red shoes - giving us feminime meets masculine. Also look out for Black light (SS/99), The fashion show of A/W 07-08, White (SS/02), Upside down (SS/06), Flowers (SS/03), Ballroom (SS/07), One woman show (2004-03) a dedication to Tilda Swinson (actress and close friend of V&R) and also featuring herself at the beginning of the show and the latest 'NO' from AW/08-09. All the pieces were very well tied into the themes of the collections and shows - It was a true extravaganza! If you are a usual gallery goer, you'd know that they don't always allow to take pics depending on where you go but I sneakily managed to get a few snaps which made my day truly and I will confess that I'm not disheartened by the fact that I won't be a bout to share my whole experience with you visually but I guess that acts as an incentive for you to go see the rest for yourself. Trust me - it's worth the £8 plus a lot more! xoxo


In the house



P.S You might just be able to pick up a freebie or two like I did: Free V&R poster at the back of info. pack plus perfume sample. They'd run outta 'Flower bomb' so I decided to get 'Antidote' for the B.F instead.


Above: Link to video of The V&R Exhibition opening night @ The Barbican Art Gallery