This Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2021 saw a radical change in the way it presents craftsmanship and creativity on the runway. 

Gone are the in – person show full of eager spectators and fashion lovers alike – at least for now. In its place, prestigious fashion houses have turned to innovative technologies, presenting their artistic haute couture collections online in hopes of continuing to stand as the avant – garde of fashion for the industry’s foremost designers and artisans. 

Enter Viktor&Rolf. The brand has taken it upon itself to craft a fashion show inspired by “parties that were and parties to come”. Blending a lighthearted fantasy vibe with the gritty edginess reminiscent of the modern Gen Z aesthetic, the brand presented a collection that simultaneously channels an underground party and the defining elegance of haute couture. 

“The mood is irreverent and almost casual but always elegant: an antidote to doom scrolling,” said the Dutch fashion house via a press release. 

The Spring/Summer 2021 collection, ‘Haute Fantaisie’ was presented at ‘Het HEM’, a former munitions factory outside of Amsterdam. The show also featured art collective RAAAF’s permanent installation ‘Still Life’ (2019) as a poetic backdrop. ‘Still Life’ is composed of four gigantic, slowly moving heavy brass plates crafted from leftover source material for bullet production. As such, it creates a link between the past, present and future of the historically burdened heritage of the space.

In the spirit of repurposing base materials, Viktor&Rolf created ‘Haute Fantaisie’ out of their prior Haute Couture collections. Materials used range from minuscule patches of vintage laces and jacquards, to fragments of vintage dresses, to sweatshirts. 

The collection is composed of two major silhouettes: voluminous skirts with body conscious tops, and wide, loose fitting dresses that vary in length. Extravagant, ‘serious’ ball gown couture skirts accentuate the waist and draw attention to the upper part of the body. They include dégradé ruffles, volants and voluminous tulle. These pieces also incorporate body hugging couture ‘bra’ tops which are heavily embroidered with metal, lace, crystals and vintage jewelry. 

On the other hand, the collection is also composed of loose fitting, straight, batwing or A-line dresses assembled from vintage sweatshirts. The pieces are cut up and pieced back together with a focus on volume. They are also heavily embellished with a disparate mix of materials and techniques. Some of these pieces feature vintage jewelry pieces and diamanté pins. 

The outfits in this collection are conceptually created to combine separate elements “put together in haste by a flock of party people who can’t wait to go clubbing, knowing quite well they cannot, as of yet”. In a world where the pressures of doom scrolling and fear of the unknown engrains itself into a COVID 19 stricken world, Viktor&Rolf presents a collection that aims to instill a youthful hope into the minds of all and inspire us to make 2021 a ‘Feel Good Year’.

Watch the fashion show below: