CRYSTAL GALE: Atelier Swarovski has tapped Dutch duo Viktor & Rolf to design a fall collection. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren thought up two lines for the Austrian crystal maker, Velvet Rock and Frozen Crystal, the former featuring stones that are coated with flock — hailed by both parties as a first.
The result is a surreal play on texture, in which the sparkle of crystal interlocks with the matte surface of gray velvet, mimicking the duo’s new Parisian flagship, which is entirely covered in gray felt. Nadja Swarovski, a member of the Swarovski executive board, said: “Their creative vision [pushed] us beyond our comfort zone. It took endless trials to find exactly the Pantone of gray Viktor & Rolf requested, but the results are sensational.”
The duo balanced the exuberance of technique with a sobriety of design. Simple and graphic, the two lines comprise earrings, cuffs, chokers and rings, the latter cover an entire finger at times. Velvet Rock will be officially unveiled during Viktor& Rolf’s ready-to-wear show on Saturday.
“You will need a sense of humor and irony,” observed Horsting, while Snoeren said he ideally thought of Joan As Police Woman, the American indie rock singer, as the perfect wearer. “Google her, she’s the coolest woman on the plant,” he enthused.
Swarovski’s Atelier collection, on display through Monday at the Tranoï trade show in Paris, will also feature a series of romantic pieces designed in collaboration with fine jeweler Irene Neuwirth, who chose roses as her primary theme, while luxury scarf designer Emma J. Shipley will focus on snow leopard motifs. Prices range from 100 euros, or $137 at current exchange, for a pair of earrings to 1,800 euros, or $2,469, for a necklace.