It is not easy to summarize the work of Viktor Holsting and Rolf Snoeren. The main reason for this is that the Dutch fashion visionaries have built a very unique reputation since founding their avant-garde luxury fashion house in 1993.
But that was part of the challenge facing the team at Rodeo FX. As part of a new exhibition at Germany's Kunsthalle Munich, the Montreal-based creative studio is bringing the museum's works to life by delivering a memorable and original experience that stays true to the story of the Dutch fashion icon. I needed to find a way to make it even better. .
The result is “Fashion Statement,” which runs until October 6th. This exhibition allows viewers to dive into the world of Viktor & Rolf, reflecting their passions, obsessions and unique artistic visions through a multisensory lens. Fit for the task, Rodeo and its experiential department, led by Nicolas Dubé-Posay, were able to draw on a range of in-house expertise to bring this experiential project to life. Most notably, the company was able to leverage his Unreal capabilities to create and conceptualize the exhibit, as well as Rodeo FX Audio's more than 20 years of work in spatial audio design. That's what happened.
To find out more about the exhibition and how they found the balance between staying true to the original work while creating a unique experience that resonates, LBB spoke with Yoma Charret, Creative Artist at Unreal. and Anthony Lassus, we interviewed Rodeo's Romain Demongeot.
Denial of conformity
A fashion statement worthy of celebrating artistic genius, it has been a long time in the making. The origin of this idea goes back to a meeting in Montreal between his Rodeo team and Munich Museum exhibition curator Thierry Maxim and his Loriot. That first conversation sparked a preliminary idea that would shape the experience, but at the time it was only a faint outline. “This is one of the first things you need to understand when working with museums, as opposed to traditional advertising,” Roman explains. “The timeline will grow longer!”
But in this case, it was a perfect fit for the team. As Roman goes on to explain, the project's late start allowed “space for ideas to breathe and evolve,” without which the fashion statement would have looked more like a traditional museum exhibit. maybe. But like the source material, the exhibition ended up being entirely unique, shaped entirely by forces outside of convention and expectation.
“We wanted to do something unique, bold, and creative,” Anthony recalls. “But at the same time, it was important to us that the exhibition really added something to the audience's overall experience. That there was something significant behind everything.”
As a result, the team's focus shifted over time to the practicalities of exhibitions. “After careful consultation with Thierry Maxime, we had a better understanding of what would be possible within the museum space,” says Roman. “From that point on, it was purely a process of refinement. We considered a lot of AR and XR ideas, but ultimately decided we wanted to move closer to the physical world. That’s why the finished exhibition , it leans toward optical illusions that really envelop and envelop the audience.”
This immersive quality was prioritized by the team throughout the creative process. The exhibition itself is dream-like, allowing viewers to dive into a unique visual world with a multisensory approach. This is an effect that speaks to an idea that was discussed during the first conversations with Thierry Maxime at the beginning of the project. “It's so rewarding to see everything come to life, from the original drawings to the reality of the exhibition,” says Yoma. “There’s always something different about seeing something you put on paper come to life.”
Embrace immersion
Throughout the process, the team maintained a constant respect for the source material. Viktor & Rolf's legendary and unique style was something that needed to be highlighted at the exhibition. “They are proudly iconoclastic,” Roman says. “I am reminded of how brands in the same category often have similar logos.Fashion is no exception, and this can make a brand's worldview feel solid.But that's not Viktor & Rolf. They don't care about trends, only their own vision, and the result is a style that feels completely unique.
Anthony summarizes: “They react to pop culture, but not in a way that embraces it. In fact, they do the opposite.”
Thierry-Maxime himself points out that Rodéo's success in conveying these qualities through its exhibitions was no small feat. “Rodeo's great strength is that it can complement an existing theme, in this case the work of a great fashion designer,” he says. “They are great at enhancing and elevating the work of key creators, always collaborating and taking into account the original intent of the project to remain completely true to the artist’s work.”
And perhaps most excitingly, Viktor & Rolf themselves feel the same way. “It felt like a postmodern experience for us to reimagine our work through the eyes of a third person,” they told Vogue in March. [the curator] We turned to Canadian company Rodeo FX to bring visual effects to the exhibition, including holograms, shadows, and bringing clothes to life. This allowed us to enhance our work in new ways. ”
In many ways, fashion statement exhibitions ultimately exist as something beyond what an audience member might expect when walking into a museum exhibition. As Roman explains, this is basically by design. “We didn't look to other exhibitions for inspiration, because we didn't want to give the impression that we were repeating old ideas,” he says. “We wanted to avoid conventionality and do something that felt completely new. After all, what better way to pay homage to Viktor & Rolf themselves?”
But the event must not only be avant-garde, but also keep the audience engaged until the end. “What Thierry-Maxime has repeatedly reminded us, and we all fully agree with, is that people stream blockbuster content on their phones, get instant gratification, and order from Amazon. That’s the thing,” says Yoma. “So we wanted to create an experience that stands out from the digital-driven world, leverages the physical presence of visitors, and makes it a staple of the show.”
That vision was shared by all stakeholders across the project, and that collaboration gave the team some creative freedom. “The only real problems we encountered were technical rather than creative,” he says. “For example, scale becomes very important when dealing with projections and optical illusions. Something that looked fine or barely noticeable on screen suddenly looks out of place or strange when blown onto a wall or ceiling. That meant we had to make adjustments and go back and forth a lot to get everything right, but it was a problem that felt like it would never get over. It wasn't.”
Ultimately, there was a palpable sense of satisfaction shared across the Rodeo team as we reflected on the exhibition. “In a creative sense, this whole exhibition was fun,” says Roman. “We were creating art to celebrate artists. It felt very freeing.”
And for participants, the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Victor & Rolf is an opportunity they cannot afford to miss. Thierry Maxime continues: The Zen garden transports us to Kyoto with a cold, futuristic atmosphere, featuring clothing that blends seamlessly with the garden's intricate design. Each piece not only tells its own story, but also deftly reflects the inspirations of both creator and curator, including a captivating vampire video that pays homage to German Expressionist cinema. ”
With over 100 objects throughout, there's no better way to gain insight into the minds and visions of two of fashion's most notorious and influential figures.