With Paris Haute Couture Week in full swing, the eyes of those in the fashion world have been fully affixed to runways and street style, no doubt finding inspiration from emerging high-end sartorial trends.
And while much of the fashion will be taken very seriously, one show is garnering a bunch of attention for its whimsical runway show and for, quite literally, turning its catwalk looks upside down.
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On Wednesday, label Viktor & Rolf paraded out a slate of models that looked to be inspired by 1950s and ’60s Barbie dolls – colourful bouffant updos with baby bangs and dark roots, classic A-line gowns in pastel tones, featuring plenty of tulle, and dramatic, cat-eye makeup.
A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 25, 2023, in Paris, France.
Kristy Sparow / Getty Images
But as the show went on, something started to happen.
One-by-one, the models started to become, well, detached from the dresses.
A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 25, 2023, in Paris, France.
Peter White / Getty Images
It started out small, with the dresses becoming slightly askew, making it look as though the model had, perhaps, missed out on a final fitting.
A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023 fashion show as part of the Paris Haute Couture Week on January 25, 2023, in Paris, France.
Victor Virgile / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
But soon, models began to appear with dresses that were completely separate from their bodies…
A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 25, 2023, in Paris, France.
Kristy Sparow / Getty Images
Or, even better, in dresses that were flipped sideways…
A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 25, 2023, in Paris, France.
Kristy Sparow / Getty Images
And even upside-down!
A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023 fashion show as part of the Paris Haute Couture Week on January 25, 2023, in Paris, France.
Victor Virgile / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Some people said it looked as though the show was operating under a glitch in the Matrix.
A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023 fashion show as part of the Paris Haute Couture Week on January 25, 2023, in Paris, France.
Victor Virgile / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
But, to us, it’s giving major vintage-paper-doll vibes, especially given the retro and modest feel of the models’ neutral-coloured undergarments.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
“A singular and narrowly defined ‘fashion ideal’ is presented and artistically manipulated to put itself into question,” said Viktor & Rolf of the inverted ballgowns.
“The dress, while retaining its idealised shape, antagonises, alienates and frees itself from the body in a surreal way.”
A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023 fashion show as part of the Paris Haute Couture Week on January 25, 2023, in Paris, France.
Victor Virgile / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
“With its delicate atmosphere, the collection appears to set the tone for an almost stereotypical vision of haute couture as an anachronistic dream of soft femininity,” concluded Viktor & Rolf.
Whatever the case may be, the label put on an exciting and beautifully executed show with stunning fashion. Petition to make all runway shows so fun, please.
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