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Viktor & Rolf’s Cutout Cool

Right sizing in the recession was taken to new extremes in Saturday’s runway show of Dutch duo Viktor & Rolf, on Oct. 3, whose every look had been sheared or cropped or hewn with massive holes.

“It’s all about cut-backs. It’s everyone’s response to the belt-tightening and recession. This is our version,” joked Rolf Snoeren backstage after showing the Spring 2010 collection.

“So we took out a chain saw and hacked away at excess, starting with the tulle,” added Viktor Horsting with a mischievous grin.

So, huge crinolines in tulle were buzz cut, with whole sides chopped out at dramatic angles, midriffs riddled like Swiss cheese and shoulders eradicated.

But forget any sense of economy when it came to the event, where the duo placed a giant sequined globe on the stage and had Irish rocker Roisin Murphy sing live on stage. The heavily pregnant Murphy, in tight black pants and a huge tulle pinafore that started at her neck and ended at her hips, sang with great power, rocking the show space.

Though frequently outlandish and at times unwearable outside of a costume ball, the collection did have some fine clothes. The accordion pleat tops and eagle-has-landed one-shoulder cocktails were great looks. It was fashion that demands attention and is not for the faint-hearted, but still very cool fashion indeed.

Viktor & Rolf also debuted Eau Mega, their third perfume with L’Oreal, the giant French beauty corporation, which effectively paid for today’s show. The scent is meant to evoke mega glamour, which is what this show did today in Paris.

Maybe the odd cut is not such a bad thing after all.

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