Haute Couture A/W 14: Viktor & Rolf

The reality is that Haute Couture is an exclusive privilege available and affordable to a select few. However, for the rest of us we rely on those red carpet extravaganzas to swoon over the hours of craftsmanship applied to such exquisitely created gowns.

Knowing full well the power of the red carpet Viktor & Rolf liberally applied their sense of wit to create designs that literally looked as if they were made from the red carpet, courtesy of Dutch carpet manufacturer Desso! Thick, deep pile, ruby red fabrics were draped, knotted and cut to make each model appear like a luxuriously wrapped present.

Capes, asymmetric sashes, oversize bows, wrap coats and an interesting array of seamless silhouettes were kept mostly above the knee. The collection dropped into full-length gowns when the thick pile was shaved into animal skin motifs – leopard, zebra, and giraffe, the hand-appliquéd material took up to 300 hours per look to complete.

Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren described the collaboration with Desso as: “Something that has never been done before, we are excited to have found a fantastic partner in Desso to make our red carpet dressing vision come true.”

On first sight you could say that this collection was a bit of experimental fun with limited commercial appeal but with closer inspection the craftsmanship, skill and hours used to create each piece really shone through.

By JoJo Iles