The creations of avant-garde Dutch fashion designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, who consider their work “wearable art,” have often gone viral. But for their autumn/winter 2020 haute couture collection, the duo kicked things up a notch with a COVID-19 theme.
The nine garments, revealed in an online video, consist of three mini-collections, each with a negligee, dressing gown and coat.
Each mini-wardrobe is meant to evoke a mood provoked by the pandemic: anxiety, in black and midnight blue; confusion, in pink; and love, in white.
The coats also send a bit of a social distancing message, with projecting cones, hearts or tubes. The narrator of the film debuting the collection noted, “You will remain in your own safe zone while venturing out into the world.”
“The situation has been so terrible, it made (us) wonder, ‘Are we allowed to do this?’ ” Snoeren told Vogue. After conferring with their staff they decided to forge ahead, but the clothing “had to be meaningful,” Horsting said.
While no prices are attached to the pandemic-inspired attire, Viktor & Rolf couture gowns introduced last year cost $45,000 to $60,000. Never fear, there are creations in a COVID “mood” available at a lower price point. A white or black organic cotton T-shirt festooned with 3D black cones is $460 in the designers’ online concept store; a similarly adorned black tote bag and black cotton shift dress cost $342 and $700, respectively.
The concept shop doesn’t sell any masks, although one model in the five-minute film did briefly sport one—in tasteful black, of course.