This season's collection opened with a suit of sorts -a gray sweatsuit. "We were thinking of the wardrobe of a gentleman, and a suit is an iconic part of a gentleman's wardrobe", Mr Horsting explained after the show. "But we wanted to play on what a suit actually is. It's a symbol -a very masculine symbol- but it's also just two garments in the same fabric". In other words, just 'cause you can jog in it doesn't mean it ain't a suit. Or because it happens to be quilted nylon. Or have long-john legs. As often as not, though, the designers' variations on a theme were standard-issue two-piecers. As suits go, some were nice. But, you wondered, whither the high jinks that so often make the duo's women's line a scream ? There was a lone woman walking the show, first in a red coat and later a fairly sensible ladies' dress; Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren said she was there to indicate the fundamental oneness of the V&R world, but no one so ho-humbly attired would make it onto their womenswear catwalk. "For us, it's about having a surreal element within a traditional context", Mr Snoeren added. There wasn't much that was surreal here. An early bright spot -figuratively and literally- was a 2-button red corduroy suit. Not exactly the thing for the office, but it had a kicky bite. You missed it after it left.
