Day 2 – Victor & Rolf: Heaven is a Place on Earth…
Ok so I cried at V&R, so what? It was one of those Fashion Moments where everything clicks to create a unique experience. I really have to thank Lia and the Karla Otto girls for giving me the chance to experience it. Pictures really cannot convey the magic and awe of seeing Kristen McMenamy, as The Fashion Robot, coming out in what looked like a gigantic coat shaped like a dome, only to be undressed by the two designers who, in the first half of the show, kept peeling layers off her and putting them on the other models, who were hidden by caps and sunglasses, making her the total star of the show… layer by layer, clothes came off and were put on the models to show on the catwalk, often in a different way from the one in which they were put on Kristen… after she was left only wearing a nude-colored body, the models started to come out dressed and were stripped so that new layers could be put on The Robot, until at the very end two beautiful gowns were turned into a cape and a gigantic collar (that came after she was wearing a huge fur… which left us thinking what on earth could they put on top of THAT?)… it was impossible not to think of the perfection, of the technical skill, the sheer genius of creating a whole collection that could be worn all at once, with volumes that worked as a normal look and put on top, say, a huge fur coat… The clothes? An interesting research into proportions, shapes, wearability, based on what were variations on a contemporary wardrobe… In the end apart from a few pieces which can only be worn on very special occasions, or by Roisin Murphy, it was also a collection full of eminently wearable clothes, could this be the squaring of the circle? I don’t know but today I’m a much happier Fashion & Fabulousness Director…

R.S.

pics: Riccardo Slavik