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Viktor and Rolf's Black Hole
By Dana Thomas
Photos by Gruber-FWD
Click on image to see bigger photo.
Paris, Mar 10, 2001/ FWD/ --- Mayhem is the only way to describe the scene in front of the
Viktor & Rolf Fall/Winter 2001-2000 womenswear show at the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs
last night.
Shortly after the appointed time on the invitation, but long before the show actually began,
the security team for the Louvre museum barricaded the doors, claiming - falsely - that
there were no seats left in the salle.
Dozens of retailers, magazine editors and journalists
waving valid invitations with assigned seats were smashed against doors under the pouring rain.
Inside, Viktor & Rolf’s public relations person Sylvie Grumbach looked on helplessly as
Didier Grumbach, head of the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter, negotiated with security
guards to squeeze a few through the glass doors, all in the glare of French television
cameras.
Upstairs in the soaring hall all was calm and cool in the audience (where there were plenty
of empty seats) and on the runway, where the Dutch duo sent out one of the most poignant
and elegant collections in fashion in ages.
The show was titled "The Black Hole," and indeed, everything was black, from the models’
inky hair and powdered matte skin to the sleek ‘50s-style leather pumps by Christian
Louboutin.
Though the clothes were all black - which has frankly become quite tiresome -
Viktor & Rolf managed, through various textures and light, to produce shades of black.
For example, they paired a densely knit black cowl neck sweater with a shiny satin ball
skirt. The result was multidimensional and effortless chic.
Their basic line was far from original: most of what came out looked like reprises of
Balenciaga, Balmain and Dior in their 1950s heyday.
The suits had cropped sleeves and
bell skirts, the jackets were small and cinched, and many of the dresses were trapeze.
But Viktor & Rolf modernized them through the use of fabrics like black and silver lurex,
turning a conservative ‘50s cocktail suit into a disco dream.
The pair played around a bit too, showing jackets with the hokey
one-long-sleeve-one-short-sleeve trick, but spinning them out humorously so the long
sleeve dripped down to the floor.
Even though it was a ridiculous creation that no
sane soul will ever try on, it was mated with a handsome pair of slim pinstripe trousers
that any skinny woman could wear anywhere.
By the time the bride came out in an oversized chevron-paneled trapeze gown, topped off
with a black veil and black bouquet, the crowd inside was applauding wildly.
It was apt
that the bride was done up like a mourning widow, for the folks outside in the deluge
were certainly ready to kill.
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