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Viktor & Rolf

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PARIS, January 20, 2011
By Matthew Schneier
Viktor & Rolf's Fall collection opened with a suit of sorts—a gray sweatsuit. "We were thinking of the wardrobe of a gentleman, and a suit is an iconic part of a gentleman's wardrobe," Viktor Horsting explained after the show. "[But] we wanted to play on what a suit actually is. It's a symbol—a very masculine symbol—but it's also just two garments in the same fabric."

In other words, just 'cause you can jog in it doesn't mean it ain't a suit. Or because it happens to be quilted nylon. Or have long-john legs. As often as not, though, the designers' variations on a theme were standard-issue two-piecers. As suits go, some were quite nice. But, you wondered, whither the high jinks that so often make the duo's women's line a scream? (There was a lone woman walking the show, first in a red coat and later a fairly sensible ladies' dress; Horsting and Rolf Snoeren said she was there to indicate the fundamental oneness of the V&R world, but no one so ho-humbly attired would make it onto their womenswear catwalk.) "For us, it's about having a surreal element within a traditional context," Snoeren added. There wasn't much that was surreal here. An early bright spot—figuratively and literally—was a two-button red corduroy suit. Not exactly the thing for the office, but it had a kicky bite. You missed it after it left.

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