The fashion house, porting the name of the most eccentric designer duo from the Netherlands – Viktor & Rolf, celebrated its twentieth birthday by the return to the official calendar of Haute Couture fashion shows.

Their fall-winter collection, closing the fourth, penultimate day of the couture fashion week in Paris, took the audience to an imitated Japanese rock garden. The defile was opened by the designers themselves with a five-minute meditation. After a four-day long riot of crystals, lace, chiffon and silk, the following twenty monochrome black looks of neoprene supplemented by flat woven rope sandals served as a real “repose” for the eyes, breaking the usual visual row.

At the end of runway each model froze in a pose of a “rock” – an integral part of the Japanese garden landscape; the resemblance was completed by Rolf Snoeren: pulling on the hems, he transformed the dress into a kind of “cape”, hiding the girl from head to toe.

As a commentary to such an unusual way of presentation, the designers said they decided to split their creation work to wearable and conceptual components, leaving the latter to haute couture line. Fashion Lab, a space for experimentation born from meditative contemplation – a strong message, which served as an original gift for all admirers of Viktor&Rolf.

Photo credits: Viktor & Rolf