Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf see the opening of their first dedicated exhibition at the Barbican, The House of Viktor & Rolf. But this isn't the usual fashion hyperbole - they actually have reduced their whole collections to miniature form and put them on dolls... in doll's houses. "We are hoping we have built the largest doll house in the world," says Rolf Snoeren.

This photo is probably illegal.

The exhibition is pretty much a homage, presenting all the signature pieces and key moments in their career, which include haute couture pieces from Atomic Bomb, 1998–99, featuring dramatic mushroom cloud-like cushioned necklines and Russian Doll, 1999–2000, in which a single model was painstakingly dressed by the designers themselves in front of a catwalk audience in 10 independent layers, in an experience reminiscent of performance art.

They have always been inventive with their work; always a message to convey behind the rigorous details. The fashion eye began paying attention to them when they went ‘on strike’ in 1996 – as a result of their frustration from not getting the recognition they anticipated from their work the previous year. From then on, they’ve kept fashion critics on their toes. Every collection tells a story and a particular mood without losing the true essence of the brand. In 1998 the pair put on an unauthorised, underground fashion show during Paris Fashion Week, which attracted massive amounts of press. 

 

Just don't assume you can buy these for your Barbies, ok?

Pieces from Launch, their ‘dreams in miniature’ collection of October 1996 are perhaps the most poignant for fans. At the start of their career and not yet discovered, Viktor & Rolf created a miniature installation that represented all their ambitions: a catwalk show with dolls, a fashion shoot, a shop with glass windows and even the launch of a fake perfume with an ad campaign and press release.

Their designs are clearly futuristic - what with one fashion show that had the models walk with their own lighting and sound system attached to them – but they manage to do so subtly and with admirable elegance.

This exhibition seems to be a fantastical realisation of their former hopes and dreams - duly keeping that soft, endearing quality that serves to sand away the designers' often clinical, cool demeanour.   

 

It has always been their staple to combine concepts that are complete opposites to create something new: their debut perfume with L’oreal, Flowerbomb sought to fuse glamour and rage. Indeed, Viktor & Rolf proclaim that “fashion is an antidote to reality.”  

 

 

 

 

The gallery is open from now until 21 September with special late Thursday evenings. Fashion students can also pick up the brief containing details on how to win an exclusive internship with the designers. Visit the Barbican at www.barbican.org.uk

Admission: £8; £6 concessions.