"Spiritual Glamour" is the result of an inspiring collaboration with Viktor&Rolf for their Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2019/2020 collection. Fascinated by Claudy Jongstra’s scientific research and with great respect for her eco-aware practice and holistic mission for a better planet, Viktor&Rolf created a series of sculptural coats in an array of voluminous shapes from Jongstra’s trademark woollen textiles. The collection focuses on the color black, specifically the complex and mystifying tones of Burgundian Black perfected by master dyers in the 15th to 17th centuries. In collaboration with the Artechne Project (European Research Council) led by Prof. Sven Dupré, artist-alchemist Claudy Jongstra has revived and reimagined the long-lost creation processes for a multitude of lustrous and lasting shades of black. Jongstra’s extensive knowledge and experimentation with natural color-making allowed for the creation of true blacks based solely on natural ingredients and historical recipes.
The Viktor&Rolf Haute Couture Collection 2019 in collaboration with Claudy Jongstra embodies an ode to mother-nature and her powers to provoke an ecological renaissance. The products of her eco-aware practice are used in a series of sculptural coats in an array of voluminous shapes. The black felt coats give way to a series of colourful dresses in fabrics of Viktor&Rolf’s own making: vintage garments and fabrics were disassembled to threads and re-constituted as needle punch, almost like abstract paintings. Elaborate patchwork, appliqué, and crochet cultivate a handmade, 'do-it-yourself', almost naive aesthetic. With creatively embroidered symbols of the sun, moon and the stars.
Photography Courtesy of Viktor & Rolf