“No photos please.” That’s a statement I’ve heard before at a museum. But, “I’m not shy, I didn’t want to come”? Definitely a first.
Both are statements from the runway collection presented by Viktor&Rolf in Paris in 2019, a meme-worthy event that went viral on social media. And now you can see it all again in Munich.
In an exhibition titled, “Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Statements,” the Kunsthalle München brings together around 100 pieces from the 30-year fashion design trajectory of the Dutch duo, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren.
The journey starts inside out, or upside down, that is, in the “Upside Down” Room, an opening space that mirrors the brand’s Milan flagship store in the prestigious Quadrilateral d’Oro, opened back in 2005.
When it comes to Viktor&Rolf, it is clear from the beginning that the lines being fashion and art are blurred. Many of their first collections were presented in galleries and art museums. In fact, their first recognition came from the art world, not the fashion industry.
So what are, according to Viktor&Rolf, the limits of wearable art? Their couture pieces cannot be worn everywhere, nor by everyone. Lady Gaga, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez have been three of the lucky women to don their designs. The space at their fashion shows, too, is exclusive and limited. And thus again, it is museums, where Viktor&Rolf began, that make such creations accessible to the general public.
@isabelevabohrer When people tell me to behave and not make a scene 🤷♀️ @Viktor&Rolf @Viktor&Rolf Fragrances @Kunsthalle München #viktorandrolf #viktorrolf #kunsthallemuc #kunsthallemuenchen #fashionmuseum #fashionexhibition ♬ Light It Up – Remix – Major Lazer
In such a career-spanning retrospective as this one, dolls could not be missing from the puzzle. Dolls? Yes, since 2006, Viktor&Rolf has been transforming their most iconic designs into dolls. Every doll is named after the runway model who wore the design – if only scaling down such elaborate couture designs were as simple as that! It’s a complex process; every doll takes about three atelier weeks to make, in collaboration with a Belgian master doll makers who produces the bodies and porcelain heads.
In fact, porcelain crops up on repeated occasions in the work of Viktor&Rolf. In a further exhibition room dedicated to upcycling couture, you’ll see pieces from “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” for example, the 2017 collection that combined vintage fragments of gowns, joined together with gold lurex. It’s an homage to the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi, in which beauty is seen as arising from imperfection: broken porcelain is being repaired with a putty mixed with powered gold, so that the joints become a prominent feature.
The references to other art practices throughout Viktor&Rolf’s works are many, and they, too, have gone interdisciplinary, designing for theatre, opera and ballet productions. In the closing exhibition rooms, you, too, can vicariously go on stage, admiring their designs for the Nederland Dans Theatre, the Monte Carlo Opera, the Festpielhaus Baden-Baden, and most recently in 2014, the Dutch National Ballet.
And if that weren’t all, you can take a piece of Viktor&Rolf with you at the end of the exhibition. In a room dedicated to the brand’s foray into perfumes, – I myself have been a fan of the brand’s signature scent Flowerbomb since childhood, – you can test the fragrances first-hand. That, combined with the audio and visual effects experience offered up by Montreal based studio Rodeo FX, really makes the exhibition a visit for all the senses.
On your way out, stop by the green screen and take a photo with a Viktor&Rolf background. The museum will email it to you or you can download it right away. A little souvenir, a tiny piece of couture, to bring back to ordinary reality. “Always wear your invisible crown,” as one of the meme-worthy statements from the 2019 collection said. I will.
Plan your visit
Kunsthalle München.
- “Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Statements.”
- Theatinerstr. 8. 80333 Munich.
- Monday through Sunday: 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.
- Buy tickets here.
More information on the official website here.
Thank you to the Kunsthalle München and Viktor&Rolf for inviting us.
Questions or comments? Follow me on IG @isabelevabohrer or TikTok and say hi! See you soon!
