Viktor & Rolf

Today I was lucky enough to go to the media view of the Barbican's amazing new exhibition, The House of Viktor & Rolf.

It was not at all what I expected, but I was not disappointed. The Barbican Art Gallery has been transformed, literally, into the House of Viktor & Rolf. It is full of life-size dolls, each wearing an iconic V&R piece. The centre-piece is a two-storey white doll's house, complete with furniture, and housing dolls wearing miniature versions of the duo's iconic work.

The lighting is dim and as you walk around you feel the immensity of Viktor & Rolf's contribution to fashion and, indeed, art. The precise execution of this exhbition is testimony to Viktor & Rolf's own meticulous craftsmanship and the strong messages which their clothes always send. Videos of their ground-breaking shows are on repeated play behind key pieces from that collection and, with this seemingly simple format, the genius behind each collection is revealed.

I was particularly moved by the brooding, neo-apocalyptic Black Hole AW01, the inspirational Flowerbomb SS05, the spooky, tongue-in-cheek Black Light SS99 and the haunting Bells AW00 collections.

The exhibition is arranged simply and is very balanced, with only subtle variations of structure. It is easy to navigate and, crucially, lets the clothes and shows speak for themselves. How very V&R. A truly beautiful and inspirational exhibition.

Who said fashion didn't belong in a gallery?

For more on the exhibition, visit:
The House of Viktor & Rolf

P.S. There has also been a beautiful book, The House of Viktor & Rolf, published by Merrell and Barbican. It is beautifully put together, goes into a lot of detail and has some previously unseen images, illustrations and sketches. I highly recommend it if your after both a great reference and a beautiful object.