Viktor & Rolf dresses models in wearable paintings during Paris couture show
Dutch fashion designers Viktor & Rolf transformed broken picture frames filled with fabric into haute-couture gowns during their latest catwalk show, by taking them off a wall and draping them over models.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
The Wearable Art collection was shown at the mezzanine space of Palais de Tokyo during Paris' Haute Couture Autumn Winter 2015 fashion week yesterday.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, who founded the Amsterdam-based fashion house, took to the catwalk to assist with completing the outfits in the collection live.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
One by one, "paintings" hung on a partition at the back of the stage were unhooked by the duo.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
They reconfigured the sections of gilded frames and materials onto the models, lifting the pieces over their shoulders or up their legs in front of the audience.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
The frames formed exaggerated silhouettes over simple paint-splattered denim dresses with rolled-up sleeves, designed to look like artists' shirts.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
"Art comes to life in a gallery of surreal proportions," said Viktor & Rolf's show notes. "A dress transforms into an artwork, back into a dress and into an artwork again. Poetry becomes reality, morphing back into fantasy."
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
The garments at the beginning of the show were blank canvases, made from white fabric shaped with wooden batons around hems and collars.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_15.jpg)
Skirts, dresses and capes were all created from the heavy material, held up with gold-coloured waistbands or resting over the shoulders.
The structures of the frames resulted in loose pleats and layers of material.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_11.jpg)
Throughout the presentation, the fabric of each outfit became more heavily patterned – decorated with images based on Dutch Golden Age paintings of the 17th century.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_13.jpg)
"The painterly gesture is achieved through trompe l'oeil techniques: each artwork is executed in a complex layering of laser-cut jacquards, embroideries and appliqués," said Viktor & Rolf.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_14.jpg)
Swans, portraits, nudes and still lifes – created in the style of artists such as Johannes Vermeer and Frans Hals – could be spotted as motifs.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_20.jpg)
"Intricate motifs parade the catwalk, transforming Golden Age paintings with the rawness and spontaneity of action painting," the designers said.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_16.jpg)
The shapes of the garments also became more extravagant as the show progressed.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_19.jpg)
Using the frames as support, material was thrust out horizontally from the shoulders and the hips of different dresses.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_17.jpg)
In some places the beige underside of the material was revealed, aiming to reinforce the idea of clothing-artwork hybrids.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_18.jpg)
One of the final dresses featured a giant collar and a zig-zagging hem that stretched out and up to one side, displaying fabric decorated with a still-life image of fruit.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_21.jpg)
After the show, Dutch art collector Han Nefkens acquired one of the pieces to donate to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_22.jpg)
The collection builds on the art references of the duo's Spring Summer 2015 haute-couture collection, in which floral gowns and straw head dresses were based on paintings by Vincent van Gogh.
![The Wearable Art collection by Viktor & Rolf AW15](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/07/Viktor-Rolf-AW15_Wearable-Art-collection_dezeen_468_24.jpg)
Transforming outfits on the catwalk is an idea also used by British designer Hussein Chalayan, who presented two-in-one dresses that converted with a single tug during his Autumn Winter 2013 show.
This season's Haute Couture fashion week in Paris took place from 5 to 9 July 2015.