Viktor&Rolf Action Dolls, haute couture collection, AW 2017 Photo © Marijke Aerden

Viktor&Rolf get dolled up for new show

The Dutch design duo mark 25 years in fashion with a show of life-sized and miniature haute couture

The Dutch duo Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are among a select few fashion designers whose work merits a fine-art treatment.

For the past quarter century the pair, known professionally as Viktor&Rolf have pushed clothing to its aesthetic limits, with challenging designs, innovative fabrics, ground-breaking fashion shows, and incredible garments that seem less at home on the catwalk and more suitably placed in a fine art gallery.

 

Viktor&Rolf by Anton Corbijn Amsterdam, 2018 Photo © Anton Corbijn
Viktor&Rolf by Anton Corbijn Amsterdam, 2018 Photo © Anton Corbijn

Rotterdam’s Kunsthal is recognising their rarefied work in a new show, celebrating the duo’s silver anniversary. The exhibition, entitled Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Artists 25 Years, features over 60 haute couture pieces, as well as special creations for famous public figures such as Princess Mabel van Oranje-Nassau, whose 2004 wedding dress is on display, and Madonna, whose 2016 Art Basel Miami concert outfit is also on show.

 

Viktor&Rolf Hana, Bedtime Story collection, AW 2005 Photo © Team Peter Stigter
Viktor&Rolf Hana, Bedtime Story collection, AW 2005 Photo © Team Peter Stigter

However, the show doesn’t only feature garments in royal or pop-star size; it will also include some miniature pieces of apparel, worn by equally diminutive models. The exhibition features a series of dolls dressed in the designers’ best-known creations.

 

Viktor&Rolf, Anja, Cutting Edge Couture collection, SS 2010 Photo © Team Peter Stigter
Viktor&Rolf, Anja, Cutting Edge Couture collection, SS 2010 Photo © Team Peter Stigter

Viktor&Rolf have been working on these for over a decade - their summer 2008 show at the Barbican in London featured a six-feet high doll's house populated with 54 porcelain models wearing miniature Viktor&Rolf outfits. And they show no sign of stopping – the Rotterdam show includes miniature versions of the pair’s autumn/winter 2017 season, which, to confuse matters further, is the figurine-themed Action Dolls collection.

 

Cover Cover by Viktor&Rolf
Cover Cover by Viktor&Rolf

For more on Viktor&Rolf’s playful work, order a copy of Viktor&Rolf Cover Cover here.