On the catwalk engaging Valentino and the magic of Viktor & Rolf

Submerged by images, no longer representations of the world but talismans of an unstoppable theatricalisation of existence, we have all become voyeurs. We observe everything through the small window of the telephone, stealing shreds that are smugly served to us by those who both show and watch. It is a whole food chain that is difficult, perhaps impossible to escape. But does one actually feed oneself? Does one learn anything? No. To really look is to know, to discover, to desire. It takes time.

"Haute couture requires attention in order to be appreciated; it requires closeness," says Alessandro Michele at the conclusion of Valentino's show: a thundering spectacle that is both a presentation of the collection and an imposition of the way of looking at it, with the point of view fixed, all together but all apart, in contemplative agitation. The accompanying written notes speak of Kaiserpanorama, a collective optical machine invented at the end of the 19th century, a forerunner of cinema and TV, in which people enjoyed viewing images of remote places, or of fantasy. The spectators, on the other hand, at Valentino's look at the models: the kaiserpanorama is eroticized in a peep show, the gaze while contemplating the sacredness of the couture creation runs along its lines and surfaces, searching for the body. The stage machine is complex but the experience is enthralling. Seen this way, one by one, the different creations do not make up a collection but are epiphanies, moments, stars in a constellation. Alessandro Michele's citationist spirit moves from the beginning of the 20th century to the 1980s, drawing from silent films and Ertè's repertoire as well as Valentino's without forgetting Poiret, Krizia, Roberto Capucci. The reference to cinema is intentional and what you see are ultimately costumes. Beautifully made, but such they remain: this is couture as projection, representation, exercise in style. As in costumes, it is the eye-catcher that counts, not subtlety. The tone of voice is strong, here, whereas delicacy would help.

Viktor & Rolf, on the other hand, produce a dressing performance whose duration, punctuated by sinister music, is anxiety-inducing, but whose end result is magical. A model dressed in white stands on stage. The two stylists compose multicoloured pieces on her, detached from the dresses of models dressed in black that pass by. The multi-coloured composition eventually turns out to be a huge kite, and the model soars through the air. An easy metaphor, the search for lightness, but as effective as ever, and impeccable execution.