Starting sometime in 2016, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren began using their own fabric leftovers to create new haute couture creations. With this inventory almost all used up, they resorted to an archive of swatches sent to them by suppliers that they had never thrown away. But how to turn all those small samples into anything approximating a collection? The answer: patchwork—a technique more associated with humble craft and DIY clothes-making than haute couture.
This youthful lineup consisted of elaborate dresses that Horsting described as “sweetness combined with fierceness.” The designers seemed less concerned about concept and more committed to “do more with less” thinking. They revisited their vaguely historical silhouettes with fresh collages of motifs and materials, and paired them with kooky foil hats and cute jelly shoes (in vegan recyclable plastic by Brazilian brand Melissa). There were micro floral maxi styles with patchwork bows and brocade patchwork mini styles with ornate capes. There were monochromatic patchworks of luxurious black-and-white lace and quilt-like compositions in vibrant colors. Dimensional crochet and tulle festooned and fixed the swatches in place, putting the work into patchwork.
If the designers drew inspiration from Laura Ingalls Wilder and Holly Hobbie, they were also putting a tougher (but not too tough) generational spin on these dated prairie girl and doll-like tropes. Models were inked with face and neck tattoos like Post Malone and Lil Wayne, only theirs read dream or love. Platitudes like Success is not final; failure is not fatal; and I have a dream spanned their arms. It would take a certain kind of ingenue to wear face tattoos on the red carpet; but given the ever-growing interest in upcycling and virtue signaling, the dresses send the right kind of message.
