Viktor & Rolf

Dolly Jones

03/10/2009

VIKTOR & ROLF could never be accused of doing things by halves and today's spring/summer 2010 show had all the makings of a fashion spectacular: a glittering globe at the opening of the catwalk turned slowly as Roisin Murphy, in a frothy pink tutu that fell from her shoulders to hip height, took her place to sing live throughout.

Keen as she is to hit fashion headlines however, we were distracted from Roisin by dresses of finely gathered pale chiffon panels that had vertical shelves of tulle busting from them in bright purple or green.

The dresses themselves were cleverly constructed and attractive, while bulbous masses of closely ruffled layers of tulle colour were typical V&R eccentricity.

Tuxedo dresses with studded shoulders were swallowed up on one side by more waves of tulle, while strapless dresses that were possibly some of this label's most wearable ever had horizontal shelves of turquoise growing out of the hem.

When they weren't playing to their theme, they produced casual nude silk jersey dresses that were voluminous at the back and drawn in to a belt at the front and had peach and lavender appliqué flowers scattered over them.

High-waisted silk trousers that were slinky and full until their tapered ankles came with elegant matching blouses with studded shoulders, while the underwear trend came in to its own when appliquéd silk shorts and vests came under cream silk dressing gowns edged in black.

It was more romantic - think heels smothered in pink silk roses - and calmer than we're used to from this pair who have in the past been considered fashion reprobates, but it was most interesting when the flamboyant tulle ruffles were pared down to act as an afterthought in black on a pretty dress of grey pleated chiffon combined with a side panel of white sequins.

It's a mistake to dwell on the wearability of a Viktor & Rolf collection though, and it was the final statement-making dresses that really allowed us to see the designers' construction skills.

The bulbous skirt of a coral robe had bites out of it to reveal the many layers it was made up of, while another gravity-defying version was missing a horizontal slice of skirt.

It was a step away from the Viktor & Rolf we're used to and, as such, was a clever display of their fashion versatility while maintaining their love of showing off.

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Why hasn't Viktor & Rolf driven into Couture yet? Their collection this season involved ruffles in chiffon and silk, and underwear as outerwear. A similarity to Dior was also present with the silk shorts. I think Spring Summer 2010 has some more definitive trends coming about, rather than wishy washy trends that have come about this season.