Viktor & Rolf Plays With A.I. (and an Eerie Doll) for Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025
Viktor & Rolf’s Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025 collection blurs the line between tradition, technology, and the uncanny.
In an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, discussions often land on a spectrum between excitement about its abilities or fear on its potential for catastrophe. In Paris, Viktor & Rolf made its stance clear in its Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025 collection that embraces the rise of this acceleratingly evolving technology by fusing traditional craftsmanship with digital experimentation. The collection by Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren relied on a single fabric, AI narration, and a single, eerie porcelain doll (left completely unexplained by the brand).
The collection was crafted entirely from silk gazar, and this was partly in an ode to its 1999 “Blacklight” collection (that also heavily featured voluminous shapes and) which relied solely on silk gazar. (In particular, it used the final rolls of the fabric that Cristóbal Balenciaga made in collaboration with bygone textile producer Abraham.) By restricting everything to one fabric, Viktor & Rolf emphasized the power of precision and uniformity, mirroring AI’s structured approach to creativity. The designers presented 24 looks that each aimed to be a variation of a single outfit: a beige trench coat, a white shirt, and blue trousers. Through these iterations—ranging from minimal and pristine, bow-filled, baroque, and crumpled—the collection aimed to A.I.’s ability to endlessly remix and reinterpret a concept.
Beyond the garments, the show itself was an exercise in pushing the boundaries of traditional couture presentations. An AI-generated voice introduced each look, as if feeding digital prompts into a machine-learning model. This robotic narration heightened the tension between human artistry and technological precision, prompting the audience to consider where creativity begins and ends in an AI-driven world. Models on the runway wore custom Christian Louboutin shoes with look, as well as vintage jewelry by Droomfabriek Amsterdam.
By merging algorithmic rigor with couture’s organic creativity, Viktor & Rolf suggest that artificial intelligence and human ingenuity are not opposing forces but collaborators in shaping the future of fashion. Click through the gallery below to see every look in the Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025 collection.
