CULTURE

Viktor and Rolf’s Spring 2019 Couture Collection Is Full of Memes to Bookmark

From flaking out on your plans to giving no cares.


FASHION-FRANCE-VIKTOR & ROLF
FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

For most people, couture is so not relatable that it borders on the absurd. With Viktor and Rolf‘s Spring 2019 couture collection that’s no longer the case. The design duo, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, doubled down on that absurdity and sent out 34 dresses all ripe for their meme potential. Each dress is a definitive mood and a Twitter reaction waiting to be posted.

Feeling like flaking on your evening plans? You’re not alone; just share a photo of their purple tulle gown that says “Sorry I’m late I didn’t want to come.” Feeling like hiding from the world? There’s always a photo of the Instagram-baiting “No photos please” gown that you can upload. Or, how about “Go to hell,” “Leave me alone,” and “Go f-ck yourself” when you don’t even feel like sugarcoating your mood? There are actually quite a few entries for that category, which also serve as the ultimate shut downs: “Whatever” and the incredibly direct “No,” which wouldn’t be surprising if it popped up in Rhanna’s wardrobe. The only question is which one of these gowns will she wear first?

The memes don’t end there. There is also “I’m not shy I just don’t like you,” “Give a damn,” “Go to Hell,” “Get Mean” (ironically stitched onto a heart appliqué), “Trust me I am a Liar,” “F-ck this I’m going to Paris,” and “Less is more” which is attached to a comically maximal dress.

Viktor and Rolf didn’t just share negative reaction-primed memes, they also had some positive messages in their collection. The one dress bearing “I want a better world” with a smiling sun seems especially relevant in this moment, as our national parks are being desecrated in the wake of the government shutdown. Then there’s an overt reference to American democracy — something that’s increasingly getting muddled during the Trump administration — with a dress that reads “Freedom” alongside an eagle. There’s also a gown that calls for “Peace.” One of the highlights, though, has nothing to do with politics and instead consists of a famed Frida Kahlo quote, “I am my own muse.”

This isn’t the first time Viktor and Rolf have made meme-worthy dresses; though it may be their most overt attempt at doing so. Back in 2008, they shared another iteration of “No” with a gray trench that had the word jutting out in 3-D. At the time, they explained it to Vogue as, “We love fashion, but it’s going so fast. We wanted to say ‘No’ this season.” (The collection also included a black tulle dress that said “Dream On.”) Plus, who could forget their famed bed dress which lives on in Twitter feeds everywhere?

They’ve inspired so many memes, there’s a treasure trove of them at Giphy — and their latest batch will be uploaded to it in no time.

A model presents a creation by Viktor and Rolf during the 2019 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection fashion show in Paris, on January 23, 2019.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

A model presents a creation by Viktor and Rolf during the 2019 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection fashion show in Paris, on January 23, 2019.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

A model presents a creation by Viktor and Rolf during the 2019 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection fashion show in Paris, on January 23, 2019.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

A model presents a creation by Viktor and Rolf during the 2019 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection fashion show in Paris, on January 23, 2019.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

A model presents a creation by Viktor and Rolf during the 2019 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection fashion show in Paris, on January 23, 2019.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

TOPSHOT – A model presents a creation by Viktor and Rolf during the 2019 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection fashion show in Paris, on January 23, 2019.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

A model presents a creation by Viktor and Rolf during the 2019 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection fashion show in Paris, on January 23, 2019.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

A model presents a creation by Viktor and Rolf during the 2019 Spring-Summer Haute Couture collection fashion show in Paris, on January 23, 2019.

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

Viktor & Rolf’s Wildest Wearable Art From the Past 25 Years Show Fashion at Its Most Performative

The House at the End of the World, featuring Heather Marks photographed by David LaChapelle, 2005. Featuring Viktor&Rolf, Bedtime Story, ready-to-wear collection, AW 2005, and featured in the exhibition “Viktor &Rolf: Fashion Artists 25 Years,” up until September at the Kunsthal Rotterdam.

© David LaChapelle. Collection Han Nefkens Foundation / promised gift to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Viktor&Rolf, Performance of Sculptures, haute couture collection, SS 2016.

Photo © Team Peter Stigter

Viktor&Rolf, Action Dolls, haute couture collection, AW 2017.

Photo © Marijke Aerden

Installation view of Viktor&Rolf, Wearable Art, haute couture collection, AW 15/16, featured in the exhibition “Viktor &Rolf: Fashion Artists 25 Years” at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2016.

Photo: Wayne Taylor

Model Yumi Lambert, seen walking Viktor&Rolf, Van Gogh Girls, haute couture collection, SS 2015.

Photo © Team Peter Stigter. Han Nefkens Foundation / promised gift to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Viktor&Rolf, Hana, Bedtime Story collection, AW 2005.

Photo © Team Peter Stigter

Installation view of Viktor&Rolf, Performance of Sculptures, haute couture collection, SS 2016, featured in the exhibition “Viktor &Rolf: Fashion Artists 25 Years,” up until September at the Kunsthal Rotterdam.

Photo © Team Peter Stigter

Viktor&Rolf with Tori Amos, Paris, 2005, photographed by Uli Weber for Vogue.

Photo © Uli Weber

Installation view of Viktor&Rolf x Bob Wilson’s stage costumes ‘Der Freischütz’, presented at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, April 2009, featured in the exhibition “Viktor &Rolf: Fashion Artists 25 Years,” up until September at the Kunsthal Rotterdam.

Photo: Team Peter Stigter

Installation view of Viktor&Rolf, Action Dolls, haute couture collection, AW 2017, featured in the exhibition “Viktor &Rolf: Fashion Artists 25 Years,” up until September at the Kunsthal Rotterdam.

Photo © Team Peter Stigter
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