Fall 2020 Couture Collection: Viktor&Rolf

Viktor & Rolf, (almost) closing the Parisian Couture Week, left us with a smile. And this is just one of the merits of the collection, which is not only beautiful, meaningful and fun, but also well presented and communicated – a detail to be mentioned, under current circumstances.

First of all the medium: in the presentation video Mika’s voice, in the background, explains the clothes as they pass in front of the camera. The collection consists of 3 wardrobes, made up of 3 items each: only 9 pieces, which however underline a brilliant idea, which is made clear to everybody thanks to Mika himself. In the same way, the voice accompanies us to discover the physical characteristics of the clothes, considering details that otherwise we could have missed.

To each wardrobe, the designers linked a specific mood. In recent times, due to the forced closure, we have become more fickle than ever, and we have noticed it – not without irritation. Viktor & Rolf translate these feelings into garments, and they do it using some contemporary pop elements that we would never have expected to see in Haute Couture. For example, the pink satin dress with lace emoji and applied crystals. Mika explains that it is the visual representation of the conflict of emotions that we have experienced in this period: every now and then happy, often sad, the fault is also of social media that “put our stability at risk”. Or like the two faux leather coats. The first is black and decorated with gray and glittered spikes: its design, that is kind of scary to the eyes, communicates that “nowadays there are a lot of things to be angry about”. While the second, pink leather and ton sur ton cylindrical applications, allow us to “preserve our safety space while venturing out into the world”.

In short, the Viktor & Rolf collection is brilliant. Among other merits, it has shown us how a good idea and a good communication together can create a significant show, which really adds something to our experience, with the right dose of irony.

Cover image by Casper Kofi, courtesy Viktor&Rolf.