The Red Carpet has never looked so obsessively red before Viktor & Rolf. But one may question its intention. No other color was detected – perhaps only an off-side shade of orange that resembled no further than red if glanced in darkness – yet, red, in all its fame and Hollywood glory, was the intention all along. Alongside the group of percussion students performing a clapping piece, Viktor & Rolf Fall/Winter 2014 was a couturier manifestation of red carpet. The collection was made entirely of red carpet, on red carpet – all hunted down at a Holland factory of synthetic and low pile carpets as a dedication to this La Gaîte Lyrique situated spectacle. Both Dutch designers wanted to take the opportunity to comment on the modern obsession with celebrities and it took a toll on its theatrics edge. The obsession with Hollywood galore and celebrity infatuation was made into a “meditation on a cultural phenomenon,” according to Rolf Snoeren, their idea of what the red carpet should appear to be.
Although, bath mats? Or at least that’s what every piece on the lineup appeared to reign as. When looked more closely, these Hollandaise synthetic red carpet was smoothed by a technical mesh, which was then wrapped, and knotted… and draped into off-the-shoulder coats, minidresses and cocoon-shaped wrap dresses. Embellishments were small-embroidered tufts of carpet arranged in leopard embossed prints, giving Rolf’s favor in primal glamor. The aforementioned bath mats were a visual manipulation caused by the giant bows adornments on the simply wrapped pieces. There was an asymmetrical consistency to the orchestration of the pieces, which one can interpret as the abstract obsession of the red carpet in the modern media. But perhaps, this is where, once again, V&R’s Dutch humor is laid focused on.
Viktor & Rolf once again left their audience at a loss for words. The magic that laid upon this collection did not surface for several moment in time, because since it may have been presented in a manner of theatrics and humor, the message was as bold as the catwalk itself tainted in all that mocking rouge: the overpowering craze for the Hollywood fame that has overrated the Red Carpet into a joie de vivre in today’s society. Viktor & Rolf was just speaking out the hidden norm through their best form of expression. There is no denial that it is a contemporary savour faire to the art of haute couture – only by Viktor & Rolf. (Text Nadilla Sari Ratman)