The House of Victor and Rolf

The exhibition at The Barbican is a fascinating showcase of the fashion designer's work. It's based around a giant dolls house where the dolls model miniature versions of their key pieces. Surrounding this, the exhibition is divided into sections representing each season of their work. Life size dolls display the clothes and in the background their catwalk shows are projected on the walls. At first it seems a little creepy- the dolls and their blank expressions can look a bit disturbing. But as you wonder round, learning about the inspiration behind each collection, you start to appreciate the theatrical nature and master craftsmanship of their work.

One of the most impressive collections is from A/W 2002-2003 entitled "Long Live The Immaterial (Bluescreen)". The designers adapted bluescreen technology into their work to "go beyond the product, to design something that is immaterial". The clothes contain elements of chromakey blue which when combined with a live video feed, seem to come to life. The models become walking screens, displaying moving footage from the urban and natural world, making them look almost 2D. You can see it below (it's 18 minutes long and gets better towards the end so it might be worth winding forward if you don't fancy watching the whole thing).

Viktor & Rolf Fall 02 Fashion Show (Full)
Uploaded by FBK1976

Among their other talents, I discovered that the duo are masters of self publicity. In 1996, early on in their career, Victor & Rolf were feeling frustrated with their status as novice artists. So, to gain some publicity the pair launched a fake fragrance entitled "Le Parfum". In the fashion world, a perfume is the symbol of a fashion houses success. They produced 250 limited edition bottles, that were sealed shut, with a publicity still to accompany it. Later that year, they rebelled against the dictatorship of the fashion industry by refusing to stage an A/W collection. During fashion week they plastered the streets of Paris with posters announcing "Victor and Rolf On Strike" which were also sent to magazine editors. There's nothing like kicking up a bit of a fuss to get you noticed...