Viktor and Rolf - Fashion Statements

Viktor and Rolf - Spring 2019 Couture

Viktor and Rolf turned memes into haute couture dresses during Paris Fashion Week.

Viktor & Rolf - Kunsthal Rotterdam

For the past 25 years the collaboration between Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren has led to extraordinary fashion creations of timeless beauty. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Viktor&Rolf, the Kunsthal organizes a large exhibition in collaboration with the Dutch designers and Canadian curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot.

The exhibition ‘Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Artists 25 Years’ shows Viktor&Rolf’s radical conception of ‘wearable art’ and explores the elements that make their designs unique in the contemporary fashion world.
Throughout their illustrious career, they have carved a contradictory identity that pushes the boundaries between art and fashion, often contrasting romance and rebellion, exuberance and control, classicism and conceptualism. Around sixty works from Viktor&Rolf’s haute couture collections give an insight into their unconventional and conceptual approach, also showing that they have never shied away from criticising the fashion industry (of which they are a part themselves). With regard to form and materials – the interplay of lines, volumes, bows, collars, ruffles etcetera – their creations are stunningly beautiful and technically perfect.

The exhibition is open from May 27 until September 30.
More information here: kunsthal.nl

Picture report: brankopopovicblog

Change the System at Boijmans Van Beuningen

Viktor & Rolf

'Change the System' features projects by designers who want to change the world, either step by step or in one big gesture. With work by more than fifty designers and artists, the exhibition gives a vision of contemporary design’s potency for change: can we rid the oceans of plastic, create a world without plastic, use graphic design to clarify and sharpen social debate?
The exhibition showcases design solutions for global problems such as pollution, conflicts, scarcity of raw materials and political tensions. Alongside existing projects, in the exhibition some of the designers developed new works or carried out experiments with the active participation of the public. Some designers created pop-up production sites in the museum, where they designed together with the public.

With 'Change the System' Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen dedicates itself to the resilience of creativity. The museum wants to inspire its visitors to look at social themes through the eyes of creative thinkers. The exhibition shows a current overview of groundbreaking design as well. From young and renowned designers that relate to the theme in an innovative and personal way and dare to work outside the boundaries of their own disciplines.

Curator Annemartine van Kesteren: “I believe that creativity is a powerful means to address the big questions of the moment. Contemporary design can inspire, initiate change or set a transfiguration of ideas in motion. Change the System gives a current overview of groundbreaking work of designers that relate to social current topics such as scarcity, conflict and unanimity. Change the System does not only exhibit highlights from contemporary design. In five Labs designers develop new work or conduct experiments where they actively involve the visitors.”

Designers in the exhibition
Annelys de Vet, Ari Versluis, Ellie Uytenbroek, Arne Hendrik, Atelier NL, Babs Haenen, Bas van Beek, Bas van Abel, Bastiaan de Nennie, Bertjan Pot, Boyan Slat, Chris Kabel, Children of the Light, Christien Meindertsma, Dave Hakkens, David Jablonowski, Dunne & Raby, Dirk Vander Kooij, Elisa van Joolen, Eric Klarenbeek, Forensic Architecture, Gavin Munro, Formafantasma, G-Star Raw, Guido Geelen, Helmut Smits, Iris van Herpen, James Bridle, Jeroen Wand, Jing He, Jolan van der Wiel, Koehorst n ’t Veld, Lex Pott, Maison Margiela, Malkit Shoshan, Manon van Hoeckel, Marjan van Aubel, Marnix de Nijs, Massoud Hassani, Melle Smets, Metahaven, Into the nightshop, Olivier van Herpt, Pauline van Dongen, Ruben Pater, Sabine Marcelis, Sander Wassink, Sarah van Sonsbeeck, Simone Post, Sruli Recht, Studio Wieki Somers, Studio WM, Thomas Thwaites, Tjeerd Veenhoven, Vetements, Viktor&Rolf, We Make Carpets, Yi-Fei Chen.

https://www.boijmans.nl

Maison Martin Margiela

Out of Fashion - Centraal Museum Utrecht

Mattijs van Bergen

Out of Fashion (Uit de Mode) exhibition took place from 8 July 2017 until 22 October 2017 at Centraal Museum Utrecht.

With this exhibition, Central Museum presented more than 100 highlights from the museum’s own fashion collection. From18th-century robes to contemporary designers such as Mattijs van Bergen and Iris van Herpen. In addition, young designers like Liselore Frowijn and collective Das Leben Am Haverkamp where given a platform.

The exhibition is designed in close collaboration with MAISON the FAUX's talented duo Joris Sux and Tessa de Boer, giving it a fresh insight from the point of view from the visionairy new generation designers.
Inspired by the different themes of the exhibition, they designed a series of objects which would preserve the clothing 'for eternity'.

Out of Fashion highlighted the wealth and diversity of the collection. Contemporary and historical fashion is presented side by side, grouped according to four themes: the maker, the wearer, the restorer and the visionary. Each of the four large rooms concentrates on one of these themes.

Meet Ups
Together with Modemuze several talks and debates where organized. I was invited to moderate Meet #3: Visionairies from fashion, that took place on 5th of October.

In this Meet Up, I have talked with the conservator Ninke Bloemberg and Tessa de Boer and Joris Suk from Maison the Faux about their experiences and visions and about the stories behind the exhibition set up.

Out of Fashion was a celebration and a feast for the eye.
In 2017, Centraal Museum celebrates the fact that 100 years ago, it was the first museum to appoint the first paid fashion curator – a remarkable fact, worldwide. Carla de Jonge began her career as an archivist of the museum collection, but she quickly managed to set up a permanent costume exhibition and went on to considerably expand the museum collection. Over the past 100 years, the focus of the collection policy has undergone significant changes: from expanding the collection of historical costumes to focusing on conceptual and contemporary national and international fashion.

http://centraalmuseum.nl

Viktor & Rolf Fall 2017 couture

Uit de Mode - Centraal Museum Utrecht

From July 8 - October 22, 2017 the Centraal Museum in Utrecht presents a big new fashion exhibition. With 'Uit de Mode' Centraal Museum celebrates 100 years of their costume collection.

Art direction: Maison the Faux, photography: Olya Oleinic.

For the first time more than 100 highlights from their own fashion collection will be in the spotlights.
With pieces by contemporary designers Viktor & Rolf and Maison Martin Margiela, but also unique costumes from the 18th century. Visitors will be blown away by the world of 18th-century robes, mutton sleeves and contemporary experimental men's suits.The exhibition will not only show the richness of their archive but also about the 'fashion' as a discipline itself.
In 2017 it is 100 years ago that in Utrecht the first paid fashion curator was appointed, this was a rather special event in the world. Lady Carla Young began her career as an archivist at the museum, but in a short time she achieved a solid costume archive and expanded the collection. Over the past century the collecting policy has changed dramatically from increasing the collection of historical costume to a growing focus on conceptual and contemporary (inter)national fashion.
Historical and current developments and themes will be presented in a dialogue next to each other in a series of four themes:  the creator, the wearer, the restorer and the visionary.
Highlight of the exhibition includes a "Live Science Program' with live restoration workshop and a changing platform where the audience will be introduced to the latest generation of fashion talents.
In addition the museum will cooperate with MAISON the FAUX.

Discover this and more from 8 July - 22 October 2017 at Centraal Museum Utrecht!

More information  centraalmuseum.nl

Toule de Jouy dress (Jan. 2016), Ronald van der Kemp.
Photography: Adriaan van Dam

japon (ca. 1892), Mme. H. van der Taelen.Photography: Adriaan van Dam

Ode to Dutch Fashion at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag

Exhibition 'Ode to Dutch Fashion' is on display until February 7th 2016

Hurry up because the exhibition 'Ode to Dutch Fashion' is closing on February 7th.
The exhibition gives an overview of the most important developments in Dutch fashion scene. On display you can see Metz & Co eveningwear form the 20ies, iconic Viktor & Rolf pieces, innovative Iris van Herpen 3dprinted dresses but also new names such as Bastian Visch and Liselore Frowijn.

With 'Ode to Dutch Fashion', Gemeentemuseum Den Haag highlights the most influental designers that have
placed the Netherlands firmly on the map as a country of idiosyncratic fashion talent.
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, which has one of the most important fashion collections in the world, provided a first ever major exhibition showcasing the history of Dutch fashion in the Netherlands.

What else can you see in the exhibition
Anyone who saw King Willem-Alexander’s coronation cannot fail to recall the dazzling blue creation – a Jan Taminiau design – worn by Queen Máxima. The Netherlands is home to a huge amount of creativity, and this has certainly not gone unnoticed abroad. Designers with their own strong signature have been particularly successful at rising above the crowd and gaining a strong reputation. Gemeentemuseum Den Haag is proud to present a well-deserved Ode to these designers this autumn, and to show how fashion has developed in this country since 1900.

Following international 
trends In the seventeenth century the Dutch elite liked to appear in portraits dressed in dignified black. However, a closer look reveals more than fifty shades of black: from ‘crow black’ to ‘coal black’ and ‘glossy black’. From that time until well into the twentieth century the Dutch followed international fashion, sometimes adapted to their own taste. In the eighteenth century, for example, a great deal of blue silk was worn in the Netherlands, while the French preferred brighter colours like emerald green or lemon yellow. Fashion consciousness grew in the nineteenth century. The Dutch closely followed the latest international trends and the arrival of the luxury department store Hirsch (from Brussels) helped prompt the emergence of a real luxury goods industry towards the end of the century.

Idiosyncratic design 
The first fashion designers to work under their own name in the Netherlands, like Joan Praetorius in the 1920s, continued to follow the lead of Parisian couture for a long time. Praetorius’ designs were admired for their ‘clean lines’ and also their ‘Dutch simplicity and quality’. After the Second World War a whole generation of Dutch designers emerged, including Max Heymans, Dick Holthaus, Frans Molenaar, Fong Leng and Frank Govers. In the 1960s they turned their attention away from Paris, developing their own distinct style, featuring lots of black-and-white, a keen eye for line and shape, and also explosions of colour and idiosyncratic touches. From then on, fashion design courses in the Netherlands, particularly in Arnhem, focused on concept. This resulted in a host of creative designers, who put conceptual Dutch design firmly on the international map in the 1990s.

Major annual fashion exhibition 
Almost ten years ago the Gemeentemuseum presented an exhibition entitled Fashion NL about the young designers of the time. Since then, fashion has been a recurring theme in the annual schedule of exhibitions. ‘Gemeentemuseum Den Haag has a long tradition of presenting fashion, with a clear emphasis on Dutch fashion’, director Benno Tempel explains. ‘Frans Molenaar had a solo exhibition here in the 1980s, for example. But we also frequently work with major foreign fashion houses. This took quite a lot of effort in the beginning, but now they know us and come to us themselves. We recognise the importance of fashion and that is reflected in our exhibitions policy.’

 Photography and design of exhibition 
Ode to Dutch Fashion will feature more than a hundred creations from the history of fashion in the Netherlands from 1900 to 2015. The exhibition has been designed by Maarten Spruyt and Tsur Reshef. The accompanying catalogue will be published by Waanders & de Kunst, and will include articles by Bianca du Mortier, Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros, Madelief Hohé and Georgette Koning. The photographs are by Sabrina Bongiovanni, who has photographed the historical collection and modern designs in typically Dutch settings: on a dike, in a tulip field, and amid the bustle of the city.

For more information:  http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl

Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring 2014

For their Haute Couture Spring 2014 collection Viktor & Rolf sent ballerina's on the runway. The presentation looked more like a ballet performance instead of a fashion show, as they brought the Dutch National Ballet to Paris.
The design duo was commissioned by the Dutch National Ballet to costume a work by Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo that will debut in April.

This really excite me because this year FASHIONCLASH is collaborating with the Dutch Dance Festival (Nederlandse Dansdagen). The projects 'Distinguished Dreams' and 'OldFashioned' will take place during FASHIONCLASH Festival 2014 and the Dutch Dance Festival in October 2014.

Coming back to Viktor & Rolf Couture show, the designers told WWD that they were inspired by a Bonbon ad with photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin that featured model Edita Vilkeviciute wrapped in ribbons painted on her nude body. The inspiration was most evident in looks that similarly looked as though they were hand-painted with fabric, bows and ribbon.

The show ended with what looked like a real life perfume campaign and the launch of Viktor & Rolf's new women's fragrance called Bonbon.

More beautiful backstage photography at Team Peter Stigter.

Images source: Fashionising.com

ARRRGH! Monsters in Fashion in Utrecht

Pierre-Antoinne Vettorello

ARRRGH! Monsters in Fashion is the first international fashion exhibition on character design.
I have been following ARRRGH! online ever since the exhibition in Paris and I finally got the chance to visit this exhibition in Utrecht. ARRRGH! Monsters in Fashion at Centraal Museum is open until 19 Januari 2014, hurry up and you also will fall in love with these cute monsters.

ARRRGH! had its first presentation in at the Benaki Museum in Athens and then moved to La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris, in Spring 2013.

ARRRGH! displays more than 70 designs of 40 established and emerging designers.
These include Rick Owens, Issey Miyake, Bernhard Willhelm, Walter van Beirendonck, Viktor & Rolf, Bas Kosters, Bart Hess, Charlie Le Mindu, Maison Martin Margiela, Motwary Mastory, Pierre-Antoine Vettorello, Manon Kündig, Heyniek, Mads Dinesen, Craig Green and more.
Monstrous creations, atypical shapes, extreme volumes, covered faces and masks are transforming the human body into hybrid creatures with supernatural forms.

Centraal Museum Utrecht added
L’Hiver de l’Amour from 1994, early work by Viktor & Rolf.
Dutch designers Bart Hess and Bas Kosters both created new designs, specifically for this exhibition, commissioned by Centraal Museum. In addition, two outfits of the up-and-coming British designer Craig Green from his Autumn/Winter 2013 collection where acquired by Centraal Museum, completing the fantastic exhibit list.

The exhibition ARRRGH! Monsters in Fashion is curated by and based on the research of ATOPOS Contemporary Visual Culture, a curatorial and artistic collective in Greece, founded in 2003. ATOPOS cvc noticed that since the 1990s monstrous characters had been appearing on the catwalks of different designers and researched this phenomenon for three years. The outcome of this research was compiled in the book Not a Toy, Fashioning Radical Characters, which was published in 2011 by Pictoplasma Publishing, Berlin. This is how ARRRGH! was born.

http://centraalmuseum.nl

Couture Graphique at MOTI museum

Today I visited Breda for the first time thanks to the Couture Graphique exhibition at MOTI museum.
For everyone who is looking for a reason to visit Breda; well perhaps because of MOTI.

Couture Graphique is the first exhibition ever about fashion and graphic design; an exhibition in which shows the communicative and decorative aspects of clothing and accessories as a means of communication.
Clothing has become an important means of expression; clothing represents the person who wears it and what he or she wishes to project and communicate. Graphic design plays a role in fashion right up to wearable technologies where clothing is used as interface for communication technology.

The exhibition shows work of designers: Walter van Beirendonck, Bas Kosters, Henrik Vibskov, A.F. Vandevorst, Dries van Noten, Viktor and Rolf, Raf Simons, Paul Smith, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Bernhard Willhelm, and more.

MOTI has invited José Teunissen (Professor in Fashion Theory at ArtEZ in Arnhem, Holland and since 2009 visiting professor to the University of the Arts in London), to investigate this subject of Couture Graphique in depth and develop an exhibition concept as a curator.

The exhibition is open until August 8th 2013.

http://www.motimuseum.nl/en/home/4

Please take a look at the images for an impression about this exhibtion.

spring/summer 2011 collections

Gaspard Yurkievich s/s2011


Maison martin Margiela s/s 2011








Damir Doma s/s11


Givenchy s/s11


Hussein Chalayan s/s11


Kenzo 40 years anniversary