From the Dutch town of Arnhem, to the fashion capital of Paris, back to Amsterdam...
From being part of a group show at the art museum, to going on a fashion show, to returning to the museum for a solo exhibition...
For nearly 30 years, Viktor & Rolf's fashion career seems to have taken a spiral route, after several tosses, and then looking back at their origins, it seems to be no different from the original state of mind, but it seems to have stepped onto a new level. Tomorrow, the designer duo's asian premiere "Viktor & Rolf: Meta Fashion!" "Will be officially opened in Shenzhen, "Clothing and Beauty VOGUE" into the scene in advance, exclusively record the exhibition in front of and behind the scenes. Model Fan Jinghan specially dressed up on the precious exhibits that came across the ocean to recreate The inexhaustible creativity of Viktor & Rolf. Before walking into the showroom to appreciate their creativity over the years, let's go back to the "yuan" point and see how they have become the topic of conversation in the fashion industry step by step.
The scene of this Shenzhen exhibition
When it comes to the Netherlands, windmills, tulips and "coachmen at sea" are most people's first impressions of the country. For the younger Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, who were exposed to and learn about fashion only from the twice-yearly, 45-minute Paris Fashion Week runway coverage on state television, and the occasional perfume commercial in magazines, they began to appreciate Claude Montana and Comte des Gar ons, who were so popular in the fashion world at the time. In 1988, the two of them met during the entrance examination of the ArtEZ Academy of Arts in the Netherlands, and immediately began to work together for more than thirty years.
In the days when Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren were studying fashion design, the Dutch fashion industry was almost a void, as Viktor once said: "There is no fashion industry here, and there is no fashion media." (The Dutch version of VOGUE was also launched in 2012) The education that the two can access in school is very conceptual and idealistic, and the teacher will strictly require students to complete all aspects from inspiration to hands-on sewing operations, but there is almost no mention of how to survive in the highly competitive fashion industry, which makes Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren struggle for a long time after graduation. But it also achieves their unique artistic expression.
"Graduation is unemployment" is a true portrayal of them in 1992, when the two men braved Paris with enthusiasm, the fashion industry did not buy their Dutch background, and even an internship job was nowhere to be found. Forced to make a living, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren decided to sign up for several design competitions, including the Yael International Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories Festival, which later won the winning trophy. Since then, Viktor & Rolf has officially become a brand co-operated by the two, and they have emerged in major fashion competitions, and their non-traditional and imaginative design style has taken the lead in attracting olive branches from art foundations, art galleries, museums and other institutions. Unlike other young designers who walk from the catwalk to the pavilion, their starting point is from the booth.
The scene of this Shenzhen exhibition
In an exclusive interview with Vogue, "We are very keen to present our work in the form of an exhibition because museums are more approachable than shows. More people can get involved and spend as much time as they want on each exhibit. On the runway, the work often flashes without stopping. This form certainly has its own charm and vitality, but after all, it is only a game for a few people. ”
Between 1994 and 1998, Viktor & Rolf survived the early difficult years with the collection and exhibition invitations of various art institutions, as well as the Dutch funding for creative talent, and also maintained its own artistic fashion creative perspective. In 1998, Viktor & Rolf officially launched its first haute couture collection called First Coutrue, and the next thing is well known - the fall/winter 1999 couture "Russian Matryoshka Doll" series made Viktor & Rolf truly famous.
In 2000, Viktor & Rolf began to formally enter the field of ready-to-wear, but in their world, ready-to-wear does not mean a certain degree of simplification and compromise, on the contrary, how to use daily fashion elements to subvert the public's fashion perception is the part they are most keen to try. They can even make themselves a pair of "twin brothers", whether in an interview or a public curtain, the two people from the hairstyle, dress, and even the style of glasses, are becoming more and more similar, and sometimes deliberately exchange left and right positions, like a prank to confuse everyone's eyes, and in fashion, this "dazzling" effect is endless.
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren often appear in the same outfit, making it difficult to distinguish for a while.
In the Fall/Winter 2003 collection, the suit style inspired by British actress Tilla Swinton is deliberately copied in a loop by several shirts from the inside to the outside. In the Spring/Summer 2011 collection, similar cyclical repetitions are used in multiple aspects such as necklines, cuffs, pockets and fabrics, so that every seemingly simple detail is exaggerated through continuous repetition and emphasis.
This exhibition features works from the "One Man Show" Autumn/Winter 2003 series
Viktor & Rolf's repetitive approach is not just about the use of a single element, in the Fall/Winter 2018 haute couture collection, in order to celebrate the brand's 25th anniversary, the two selected 25 representative works from the past collection, with white as the main color for remake and interpretation. Looking back at these works that have triggered topics, we do not feel the sense of the times brought about by the accumulation of time, but the modernity and interest behind them are still worth savoring.
The works in this exhibition from the "Flawless" Fall/Winter 2018 Haute Couture collection are designed to be reproduced from the "Atomic Bomb" Fall/Winter 1988 Haute Couture collection.
From the fall/winter 1999 couture collection where model Maggie Rizer was made into a beautiful "Russian matryoshka doll" to the fall/winter couture collection in 2017 when models wore huge doll headdresses, the enthusiasm for dolls vaguely reflects Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren's naïve fascination with fashion. In this "Viktor & Rolf: Meta Fashion! In the exhibition, the "House of Dolls" section will focus on 24 groups of fashion doll works, which is also the first appearance of "them" in China.
The 2008 exhibition "The House of Viktor & Rolf" coincided with the 15th anniversary of the brand's founding, and during the preparatory process, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren had a whim, hoping to construct the past achievements into a whole in some form, so they began to make ceramic dolls that continue to this day, selecting one or two of the most representative shapes from each season's runway to make 60cm tall dolls. Although it seems to be a miniature version of a live-action costume, its sophistication is comparable to sculpture, often more laborious than making a runway costume. "Although they are dolls, they are not meant to be played with, but to be watched, to freeze time. Fashion is fleeting, but we want to give it timeless. Viktor explained to us.
Behind these cute and flattering fashion dolls is the innocence and childlikeness of Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren. On the question of the so-called "source of inspiration", they will tell people very directly that movies rarely inspire them. And many times, for the seemingly "unexpected" presentation, the starting point is only their inadvertent brain hole: when they feel suffocated by the rhythm of the ready-to-wear world, the "No" series directly constructs the letters on the clothing in a three-dimensional form; when people pay too much attention to the red carpet dress of the stars, they think about what it would be like if they used the red carpet to make fashion; of course, there is the famous "wearable art" series, which comes from their reflection after focusing on the couture world——" If couture is considered an art, can art be worn directly on the body? ”
Works from the "Action Dolls" Fall/Winter 2017 Haute Couture collection in this exhibition
The name of the asian premiere exhibition, "MetaFashion", is hardly reminiscent of the current buzzword "Metaverse". In fact, MetaFashion's title comes from a 1995 artforum magazine review: "Viktor & Rolf's fashion, more appropriately a 'meta-fashion', their work is a deconstruction and reinvention of the concept of fashion." In Viktor's view: "What we are trying to convey is a state of fashion that is interpreted outside the perspective of fashion." This relationship with fashion is the theme that runs through our work. ”
Works from the "Bedtime Stories" Fall/Winter 2005 series in this exhibition
Not only from a perspective other than fashion, but also as an issue that coexists with today's society, the "Fashion and Responsibility" gallery in this exhibition focuses on Viktor & Rolf's concept of sustainable creation, "like exploring a way of thinking, showing ideas about the more essential nature of sustainable development." For example, in the Fall/Winter 2016 haute couture collection, we did not use any new fabrics, but found the right fabrics from the inventory to mix and match, including those from 20 years ago and those that had just been used. Fragments from the past come together to become a whole new existence, and this is the meaning of creation. ”
Starting with the AW16 Haute Couture collection, Viktor & Rolf has been experimenting with how to recombine the various materials and fabrics that have accumulated since its inception – buttons into beads and raw edges instead of tassels (AW16 Haute Couture); upcycling vintage clothes inspired by the Japanese "Golden Silk" craft (Spring/Summer 2017 Haute Couture); or with Dutch textile artist Claudy Jongstra's special collaboration on natural fibre fabrics and natural dyeing methods (AW19 Haute Couture) allows the most modest materials to collide with the most upscale process, realizing what Viktor calls a "new existence".
Fall/Winter 2016 Haute Couture Collection Craftsmanship Details
Obviously, it's hard not to be captivated by viktor & Rolf's exaggerated visual impact when everyone first sees it, especially when the puffy skirts adorned with slogans taken from social networks in the Spring/Summer 19 Haute Couture "Fashion Manifesto" and the AW21 Haute Couture collection embellishments of pompous artificial gemstones appear. But in our interview, Viktor also revealed their thinking behind these interesting designs: "We sometimes feel that there is a separation between images circulating online and entities that carry craftsmanship and time. Rolf adds: "In fact, I always feel as if our works exist in the digital world – although their ontology is released in Paris as haute couture, most people in the world see it online." ”
Works from the "New Royalty" Fall/Winter 2021 Haute Couture series in this exhibition
Next year marks the 30th anniversary of Viktor & Rolf, and Viktor & Rolf's Asian premiere will officially open tomorrow, with more than 80 heavyweight works on display. For example, Pooky Lee, curator of this exhibition, said: "Their works have been commenting on and interpreting the cultural and social phenomenon of fashion in a fashion-creating way, and have greatly expanded the public's understanding of issues such as clothing design, the human body, and identity. "Perhaps that's why Viktor & Rolf is able to maintain its uniqueness in the fashion industry, whether from a superficial visual or a profound ideogram, everyone can gain something from their own perspective."
The scene of this Shenzhen exhibition
Viktor & Rolf: Meta Fashion!
Duration: 2022.4.29-2022.10.8
Venue: Shenzhen Sea World Culture and Arts Center SWCAC L1 Main Hall
Photo: Huang Jiaqi
Styling: Audrey Hu
Producer: Julie Wang, Zhou Yang
Model: Fan Jinghan
Makeup: Sakura Sakura
Hairstyle: Li Feng
Technical assistance: Xie Miaowei
Co-ordination Assistant: Wang Weikai
Styling Assistants: Wendy, Wu Lingjing, Xiong Pei
Author: Shan Lai
Editor: Lexi Chen
Fine Arts: Roland, Rao Xiaoni
Some of the images are courtesy of Design Internet