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Viktor and Rolf (both born in 1969) began their career with conceptual couture and controversial fashion projects such as the launch of a fake perfume.
In museums and galleries and on the Parisian catwalk they present dresses as walking works of art. Nowadays the focus is on wearable but luxurious ready-to-wear lines, but the fashion show as performance remains at least as important as the clothing, steering a course that lies somewhere between theatrical, minimalist and romantic.
This design duo is obsessed with bows and ruffs, and their designs often nod respectfully to their shining example: Yves Saint Laurent.
Viktor & Rolf graduated from the Arnhem Fashion Institute in 1992. A year later they won a prize in Hyères. In 2003 they celebrated 10 years of V&R with a retrospective exhibition at the Louvre in Paris. In 2004, for the wedding of the Dutch Prince Johan Friso, they designed a wedding dress with bows for his bride-to-be, Princess Mabel.
In 2003, a contract with cosmetics giant L'Oréal resulted in the women's perfume ‘Flowerbomb', which was followed by the ‘Antidote' perfume for men in 2006, the year when they also designed clothes, eyewear and a wedding dress for Hennes & Mauritz. Under their own label, V&R have been selling eyewear as well as ties, scarves and shoes in Milan in what - for the time being - is the only Viktor & Rolf shop.