Dolled Up

Viktor & Rolf’s carefully groomed persona is as detailed as their conceptual fashion design: they speak in monotone, finish off each other’s sentences and, on first glance, could be mistaken for twins. The exhaustive perfection of their image and brand is carried through to their showrooms and catwalk presentations, which have frequently been co-created with design duo Studio Job. “We met when we were all unknown, without a penny and wandering the streets of Paris,” says Job Smeets of his studio's more than ten-year relationship with Viktor & Rolf; he and partner Nynke Tynagel have designed sets, furniture and even fabrics and jewelry for the label. The last two Viktor & Rolf catwalk shows were Studio Job spectaculars: for this spring’s "Cutting Edge Couture," the studio created an enormous, Swarovski crystal-covered globe that sparkled over the runway, while for fall 2010’s "Glamour Factory," they produced a wallpaper-like backdrop, patterned with cranes, cogs and pylons. The partnership continues this month with an exhibition of Viktor & Rolf’s Dolls at Studio Job Gallery, Antwerp, from May 18 through July 16. First seen in a retrospective at London’s Barbican Centre in 2008, the two-foot tall porcelain dolls are clothed in miniature versions of the house’s collections—fabrics, hairstyles and make-up are obsessively refashioned with faultless precision.