Viktor & Rolf’s Autumn Winter 2020 Haute Couture collection seems to follow the migratory flow of fashion that is driving brands towards eco-sustainable production. A choice that the two designers decide to pursue both on a thematic level and in the choice of materials.
It starts from the theme: on the always extra clothes that characterize the Viktor & Rolf style, sun, moon and stars are embroidered, a clear reference to paganism and to the close bond that this ancestral religion had with nature, articulating human life and activities based on natural phenomena.
A profound respect, and also a sort of innate fear, has characterized the relationship of man with the environment in the pagan era, and Viktor & Rolf‘s clothes take up the dark colors and the astronomical symbolism of the Druidic clothing.
As for the “practical” front in choosing materials and making clothes, the question becomes more complex. For this Haute Couture Autumn Winter 2020 collection, the two Dutch designers have collaborated with Claudy Jongstra, also a Dutch artist and designer, who has always been very attentive to the theme of sustainability, so much so that it became an almost scientific research mission.
With the help of the artist, Viktor & Rolf have created felt coats made of Drenthe Heath sheep wool, a native and very rare breed, with a wide and very structured silhouette, and dresses dyed with a particular natural pigment, bordeaux black ,which Claudy Jongstra studied for over a year analysing ancient formulas from the 15th century.
The production process is controlled to be as less invasive and harmful as possible, and this ecological conscience joins the renewed creative talent of the designers, who once again show that they are able to combine strong messages and social implications with the beauty and pure aesthetics of high fashion, making their collections a real analysis of the modern era.