VIKTOR&ROLF, WHO WILL CELEBRATE 25 YEARS ON THE PARIS CATWALKS NEXT YEAR, ARE NO STRANGERS TO THE PARISIAN FASHION SHOWS SCENE WITH A STRONG VISUAL SIGNATURE.
Dutch duo Viktor&Rolf paid tribute on January 26 to German filmmaker Friedrich-Wilhelm Murnau’s Nosferatu, released 100 years ago, in their Spring/Summer 2022 Haute Couture show “Surreal Shoulder“.
“Dracula,” the novel from which the German silent film is based, “is such a powerful symbol of fear in society, fear of change. It seems very appropriate for the moment we live in,”.
The designers chose the Chaillot theater, an Art Deco palace with long columns and gilding, to parade models with high shoulders and very long fingernails, creating spectacular beauty, utilizing their work to transform the notion of fear — which the present currently offers — into something positive.
This season, the entire collection is treated with this same ‘new’ shoulder line:
Dracula’s tuxedo with cape is one of the most iconic outfits in Hollywood. Taking this look as a starting point, most outfits are stark and monochromatic with a ‘gothic’ feel.
For the first time in a couple of seasons, the collection includes an important section of tailoring. Its play with proportions is typical of Viktor&Rolf’s stylistic vocabulary. Furthermore, a wide variety of dresses is shown, ranging from billowy sheaths to sculptural ballgowns.
Fabrics are either crisp or gauzy, but always compact to support the architectural shapes. Colors are muted, playing on contrasts of dark and light, with some delicate pastels, chalk white and the occasional pop of cerise red.
The only decoration can be found on a trio of floor-length evening dresses in black and white, pale pink and black. Each one is hand embroidered in the artwork of diaphanous, wilting flowers, executed in scraps of delicate fabric, beads, and paillettes.
The collection is crafted with a mingling of fabrics, notably using conscious materials through a first couture collaboration with TENCEL™ LUXE. This season’s look is complemented with the third season of Melissa / Viktor&Rolf vegan shoes.
Viktor&Rolf SS 2022 Haute Couture Collection
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