Viktor & Rolf

Infobox_Company
company_name = Viktor & Rolf
company_logo =
company_type = Private Company
company_slogan =
foundation = 1993
location = Amsterdam, Netherlands
key_people = Viktor Horsting & Rolf Snoeren (co-founders and owners)
num_employees =
industry = Fashion
products = Apparel and Accessories
revenue =
operating profit =
homepage = [http://www.viktor-rolf.com www.viktor-rolf.com]

Viktor & Rolf is an Amsterdam-based fashion brand. The company was founded in 1993 by designers Viktor Horsting (born 1969) and Rolf Snoeren (born 1969). They are famous for fantastical and concept-based designs, mixing extreme ideas with glamourous high-fashion. They also have had a fluctuating, devoted relationship with the fashion world, often played out in the themes of their shows and their overt pursuit of international popularity. A typical showpiece design by Viktor & Rolf is a woman dressed only in oversize pink ribbons, as seen in the 'flowerbomb' collection.

History

Viktor & Rolf met while studying fashion at the Arnhem art academy. [http://www.icon-magazine.co.uk/issues/030/vandr.htm Icon Magazine Profile] ] After graduating they moved to Paris, interning for brands such as Maison Martin Margiela, designing their own clothes in the evenings and presenting them in the art circuit. In 1993, Viktor & Rolf won the Festival d'Hyeres prize.

In 1998, Viktor & Rolf put on an unauthorized, underground fashion show during Paris Fashion Week designed to attract members of the press. Ready-to-wear and their menswear label "Monsieur" were to follow over the next five years. Viktor & Rolf also produces women's shoes and hand bags (designed by Dutch designer Fredie Stevens), glasses (Asia only), neckties, scarves and lingerie. Viktor & Rolf have also worked as curators for several exhibitions, and have designed stage-outfits for several theatre productions. According to the designers, "For us, fashion is an antidote to reality." [ cite web | last =Simmons | first =Cari | title =Swedish H&M takes the catwalk to the sidewalk | publisher =Swedish Institute | date = Nov. 3, 2006 | url = http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/Article____15595.aspx | accessdate = 2007-03-10 ]

In 2003, the Fashion Museum in Paris presented a 10-year retrospective of the designers' work.In 2005 they opened their first, flagship shop in the Golden Quadrilateral (Quadrilatero d'Oro) in Milan, and were contracted by L'Oreal to develop their first perfume, called Flowerbomb. [cite web| title =Flowerbomb: A Bouquet by Viktor & Rolf | publisher = L'Oreal | date = Apr. 6, 2005 | url= http://www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/passion/full_article.aspx?NewsID=1e141442-f92c-4946-8fd2-74f1337bd0d0&r=3&sr=8 | accessdate = 2007-03-10 ] In 2006, their first men's perfume, Antidote, was introduced in the US. Viktor told Harper's BAZAAR the fragrance was "all about the power of transformation. The power of every individual to turn anything into something positive." [cite web| title =Viktor & Rolf | publisher = Harpersbazaar.com.au | date = Sep. 9, 2006 | url= http://www.harpersbazaar.com.au/harpers/site/articleIDs/52DED0C6A1FE1351CA2571A1001AC808?open&template=domHarpers ]

In November 2006, Viktor & Rolf followed Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney in designing a line for the Swedish-based retailer H&M. [cite web | last = Jones | first = Dolly | title =H&M's New High Fashion Partner | publisher = Vogue.co.uk | date = May 11, 2006 | url = http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=35187| accessdate = 2007-03-10 ]

Characteristics of their clothes include layering, distorting, exaggerating and repeating of classical design elements (blouses with 10 nested collars, upside-down and lop-sided dresses).

An exhibition entitled ["The House of Viktor & Rolf" ] [http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/home] can be seen at [Barbican Art Gallery] [http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/home] , London from 18 June - 21 September 2008 covering key moments in the pair's career.

On July 21, 2008, Viktor & Rolf announced that Renzo Rosso —owner of Diesel Jeans, chairman of Only the Brave (OTB)— has taken a controlling stake in their company [ [http://iht.com/articles/2008/07/22/arts/fdiesel.php Renzo Rosso takes control of Viktor & Rolf label - International Herald Tribune ] ] . Rosso already controlled Dsquared, Maison Martin Margiela and Sophia Kokosalaki, and manufactures Vivienne Westwood's leading lines. Viktor & Rolf state that this deal is meant to allow their company to put out a wider range of products and to open more stores.

Shows

Viktor & Rolf have gained attention for their artistic, concept-driven catwalk presentations. For example, in one show they dressed model Maggie Rizer in layer upon layer of couture dresses, piled on top of one another. [ [http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/viktor_and_rolf.shtml Index Magazine interview] ] They have also used a blue collection of clothes as a chroma-key blue-screen to project video. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/10/08/rolf_ed3_.php "Viktor & Rolf: concept to concrete" (International Herald Tribune)] ] In their Fall 2007 collection, each model wore scaffolding with her own lights and music, to much concern for the models' safety. For the presentation of their first menswear collection, they modeled the clothes themselves, changing outfits on the stage. Their collections have also featured several performers, like Tilda Swinton, Tori Amos and Rufus Wainwright [ [http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/S2007RTW/review/VIKROLF Style.com review of spring 2007 RTW collection] ] . Another noteworthy, longtime cooperation is with internationally known photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

A new exhibition showcasing the work of Viktor & Rolf can be seen at [Barbican Art Gallery] [http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/home] in London from 18 June 2008 until 21 September 2008. The exhibition, called "The House of Viktor & Rolf" presents each of the designer’s signature pieces from 1992 to now, shown in a specially commissioned and characteristically theatrical installation that dominates the entire Gallery.

References

4WOMAN - Magazine / http://www.4woman.com.ar biografia Viktor & Rolf con fotos y videos

External links

* [http://www.viktor-rolf.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.viktor-rolf-parfums.com/ Official fragrances website]
* [http://www.iqons.com/viktor%26rolf Official Viktor & Rolf portrait] on Iqons.com
* [http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=7272 The House of Viktor & Rolf exhibition page on Barbican Art Gallery website]
* [http://www.4woman.com.ar 4WOMAN - The Femenine LifeStyle, informatio / photo and video - Viktor & Rolf]