Working in new media has its benefits, namely the simplicity and immediacy in getting news to our readers, especially during important events like Fashion Week. Even though Henrik Vibskov’s runway show for his winter collection was Friday night, it has taken a couple of day’s discussion to decide, what was that? Vibskov is one of those rare designers who exists entirely in a universe of his own. In the collective imagination fashion is a synonym for clothes, but for Vibskov fashion is a sense, a visual language. He presents his ideas and concepts as live events, a collaboration where the boundary between the worlds of art and fashion is creatively blurred, all the while rejecting transient fashion trends.
The season’s presentation of The Slippery Spiral Situation was a mind trip. Figuratively and literally. The models, as they walked down the runway, replete with wire-frame spectacles and ghoulish wooden ‘brains’, had a presence that drew parallels to Mr.Book from cult sci-fi thriller Dark City. Vibskov’s choice of music sounded like a David Lynch soundtrack and only added to the eerieness of the show. The collection itself was, as always, a hybrid of ideas: a wee nod to Scottish patriotism and the rugged outdoors; boiler suits, British knits and a bit of Inspector Clouseau, in a colour palette that was more cheerful than one would expect from winter.
Australian boutiques introduced Vibskov to Australia via his menswear but his womenswear has progressed in seasons past to the point where it has become more interesting than the mens. There was less to work with in this collection in terms of styling (for the women) but the silhouettes are more adventurous, the prints are more dramatic.
** All images courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week
