Denmark’s own Henrik Vibskov revels on-point again, or rather off point. This season’s show was more a performance for the eyes- cutaway drum sets painted bone white replete with drum mallets sounded off as the men walked over uneven footing and sounded off nearly inaudible drum beats.
This season the Danish designer pursued a more limited palette than in his Spring/Summer 2012 collection. When Nowfashion’s Alice Pfeiffer inquiries Vibskov about his limited palette he responds, “Yes, I counted how many colors I used for the show and tried to do less of that – white is the keyword.” Nearly all the looks are comprised of primary and secondary colors. The poignant fuchsias, ceruleans, and sea foams were largely left out of this Fall/Winter 2012 Collection. Instead the collection consists of intense line verticality, block-color knits, loose riding pants, speckled wool cable sweaters, and even black and dark colored frock coats. Each of the looks presents a street-style version of the 1920′s women’s cloche-hat, except in the vain of Henrik’s eccentricities, each cap has an abbreviated bill and all the ears of the hats are cut out. Additionally, unlike previous seasons, this season all the models are wearing white sock covered loafers with frilled toe and heel accents in black.
In looking at the show I can’t help but imagine a correlation between this collection and that of a merged theme: Literary Cycle Culture and Surrealism. Without delving into too many specific works, at first glance all of the bass drum basins, uneven planks, and gaudy brass and crystal chandeliers screams of an ode a la “Persistence of Memory” by Spanish Surrealist Salvador Dali. Every piece of clothing in the show accentuated the use of line, from the cuneiform-like hieroglyphic lines in the scarves and the cardigans, to the diagonal zippers in some of the trousers, and the smooth curved lines of the blazers and suits, even the hats had bowing lines from ear to ear. Yet again, Henrik Vibskov inspires the eyes, skin, and heart. This fantastical collection still expresses the same kookiness and vibrance that we have come to expect from this visionary designer, whose work exemplifies artistic conceptualization, ingenuity, and colorful expressiveness.
Written by Martin Narrod
All photos courtesy of Matt Reeves www.darkroomdemons.com