Hello, Dolly!

Viktor & Rolf have carved a lasting niche for themselves in the fashion industry, which is an amazing feat considering the massive talent of those who have gone before them. Yet, V&R are equally matched to the talents of Yamamoto, Gaultier, Galliano, Prada, Chalayan, etc. Their inventive, wild, even insane collections have been hard to scrutinize and dissect. We admire Viktor & Rolf at arms length, uncertain of how to feel about them. Now, we can hold them close, even press them to our chest. I am speaking of their newest creations: dolls.

Viktor & Rolf have produced a collection of gorgeous little dolls made to represent certain looks from past runway collections down to the last detail. I love it! Barbies for grown-up fashionistas!








What I appreciate the most is that they keep the fantasy alive. A love for fashion starts out for most of us at a young age: trying on our mother's clothes and shoes, dressing up our siblings and our baby dolls. Here they recreate looks for their collections which is genius, because it serves as a constant reminder of their inventiveness and yet it's also a great marketing tool.

When I visited the V&R Barbican Artgalley site, I saw this awesome event that I would sell my Manolos to attend:

Exhibitionism: Does Fashion Belong in a Gallery?"

Does fashion belong in a gallery? Join the debate on this hot topic with Professor Christopher Breward, Deputy Head of Research, V&A, Lou Taylor, Professor of Dress and Textile History, University of Brighton and José Teunissen, Professor Fashion Theory at ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, Arnhem . Chaired by Penny Martin , SHOWstudio and the BBC2 Culture Show.

I would love to be a part of that debate. It's one I have engaged in many times myself in my professional fashion journalism and here on my blog. I even gave a speech about it to a class at my university. Needless to say, the vibrant artistic and fashion-oriented community that Viktor & Rolf have established is unqiue and interesting and multi-faceted. They aren't simply fashion designers. They have crossed-over into all sorts of new genres, which makes them endlessly fascinating and birthparents to a new breed of designer altogether.