The Appearance of the Void

Another collection by Viktor and Rolf which also included the idea of shadows was their earlier 1995 installation L'Appaarence du Vide meaning The Appearance of the Void. This collection was based on the emptiness that the two designers felt was overtaking fashion. They believed that fashion was becoming superficial, it was becoming about the supermodels and the designers as stars rather than cloth and form. The completely gold lamé pieces were inspired by the superficiality and commercial use of wrapping paper and ribbons. Each gold garment was hanging from the ceiling and had its own shadow counterpart laid on the floor and made from black organza. Overall the installation was there to show the overblown glamour of fashion, contrasted with the emptiness that it was rapidly becoming.



The way the garments are hanging remind me of Caroline Broadhead's art which I researched for my previous project.

Creating an installation similar to these two is something I would also like to experiment with for my FMP. I think the hanging garments really give an atmosphere of emptiness and seem to convey ghostly memories of garments which is the basis of my proposal. Shelley Fox is another fashion designer who I researched for my previous project. Her Philadelphia Florist collection was also displayed as an installation rather than down a catwalk. Her idea was to give the installation a feeling of having just walked into someone's room where clothes have been tried on and disregarded so the entirely white garments are hanging from hooks and then draped over white blocks. This gave the idea of 'leftovers' as though they were once loved but are now forgotten.

Shelley Fox's website: http://www.shelleyfox.com/


pictures found here