Since Yves Saint-Laurent took it to the extreme, drawing inspiration from men’s wardrobes to modernize women’s fashion has become common practice, with varying degrees of success. And when the resulting collection is a success, it becomes a matter of course. Designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren didn’t just draw from the men’s wardrobe for their Spring Summer 2011 collection. They also chose to highlight one of the most iconic pieces in men’s wardrobes, the shirt, in a collection entitled ” Shirt Symphony“.
This iconic piece has been systematically reworked and hijacked from the conventional men’s wardrobe, so as to be available in all lengths. Right from the start of the show, the tone was set. Asymmetries, elaborate shoulders and various metamorphoses are all examples of the deconstruction of an overly classic piece.
A taste for the theatrical, so dear to both designers, can be found in these gauze models with gigantic shoulders, adorned with frayed silk ribbons, in blue, pink or black, in a theme repeated in the form of shirts, short dresses with puffed sleeves, or characterful blouses with or without sleeves. The same theme embellishes a monumental white dress combining all the “games” of the two designers: ribbons, hypertrophied sleeves, multiple collars and wide white lapels and a succession of panels.
Viktor & Rolf’s shirt is most daringly expressed in white. In a chic version paired with black pants, it reveals its unconventional side by falling behind in the form of a long silk train. Sometimes its sleeves are adorned with floral embroidery or multiple cuffs, bringing a slight Colombian touch to the ensemble when, in blouse form, it accompanies white pants. It becomes a long strapless dress with an empire waist, multiplying the sections that make up a shirt. And when the neckline is adorned with endlessly repeated collars, it’s perfect for the red carpet.
A classic in light silk, green with pink or blue stripes but with systematically worked shoulders, the neo-shirt according to Viktor & Rolf dresses up cigarette pants and leggings elongating a slim silhouette. The two designers also imagined it as a short dress, in water green, black or white, puffed at the shoulders or hips with a touch of drape, and whose waist is sometimes gracefully adorned with a wide band of white embroidery or black mesh.
The shirt takes on a djellaba inspiration when it appears in vertical stripes, fluid and light to wear over light-blue or black pegged shorts or simple pants. It can be worn as a tailset in a chic striped cotton poplin liquette, with a short front that emphasizes the waist, while the back falls in long panels.
The two Dutch designers play with cut-outs, bibs and cufflinks. Shirt dresses become asymmetrical, short on one side while the other retains its full length. Collars slide over the shoulder. Shirt cuffs with cufflinks become decorative motifs, discreetly punctuating trouser cuffs.
The pinnacle of their creativity appears in a half-futuristic, half-architectural wedding gown with a profusion of panels and lapels, bringing a spectacular show to a close.
As for the woman according to Viktor & Rolf, it’s the eye adorned with white, the nails and the mouth red that she will face the pavement perched on high heels with a low chignon covered with a small white veil. By reinventing the men’s shirt, the two designers have brilliantly turned it into an emblematic piece of women’s wardrobe, becoming the epitome of glamour.
Photo credit: © PETER STIGTER with the courtesy of Viktor & Rolf
Marie-Odile Radom
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