Viktor & Rolf masterminds Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have been known to do battle with gowns — for proof, just look at their collection from spring 2010, where they used chainsaws to hack away at sweeping tulle, leaving chopped-out results. For their couture show today, they cut up more dresses, but this time it was in the interest of showing vintage gowns and cocktail dresses some TLC. They took a decades-spanning assortment of pieces that were old or even a bit damaged and transformed them into winning couture collages. For good measure, they gilded some of the scraps.
Upcycling is a technique that’s more often associated with indie brands than with couture. But when applied at the haute level, the results were stunning. According to the show notes, the designers were inspired by Kintsugi, a type of Japanese pottery where broken pieces are repaired and dusted with gold or silver to show that imperfections are valorized. It’s the second chapter of the duo’s recycling saga, since for last season’s show they reimagined pieces from their archives and turned them into recycled glory.