As Paris Couture Week continues, we’re finally seeing some of the over-the-top works of art that we’ve come to expect from our favorite designers. While the mood at Chanel was one of polite whimsy, designer duo Viktor and Rolf took their florals in a different direction pursuing mayhem rather than magic. Each dress was the same baby doll silhouette littered with a floral print and accessorized only with a straw hat and flip flops, but as the show wore on, the dresses evolved slowly from 2d demure frocks to exaggerated works of art with voluminous 3d floral appliqué that extended way out of the dress at times joining the straw hats to create unique spectacles. The hats themselves, were almost like warrior helmets with the straw details manipulated this way and that to create shapes reminiscent of rays of sunlight.
Designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren were inspired by the works of Vincent Van Gogh and mentioned being struck by the “raw energy” of van Gogh’s landscapes. They even cited his quote, “I put my heart and my soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process.” The designers brought the rich colors of the Dutch impressionist to life with the help of Vlisco, a Dutch company that employed wax-dying, block printing and the batik technique to create the stunning textiles.
Unsurprisingly, before the show even began, three dresses were snapped up by the art collector and patron Han Nefkens, who will supposedly donate them to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Netherlands.
[Via – Dezeen]
