Couture Edition · Colombine
| Product: | Colombine |
| Description: | Couture Edition, limited edition of 25 |
| Design: | Franz Anton Bustelli, 1759/60 |
| Decor: | Viktor & Rolf, 2008 |
| Height: | 22 cm |
| Item number: | 18.964 |
Viktor & Rolf’s design for Bustelli’s Colombine (Columbine) goes back to their pioneering Black Hole collection of autumn 2001. As the Amsterdam fashion designers say, they were inspired at the time by black holes, “which absorb all light and energy. This collection is a response to a feeling of loss and depression we felt at the time. We wanted to find ways of making empty shapes visible.” An ode to loss and emptiness takes visual shape.
In the collection, the models were dressed in black outfits made of different materials and catwalked with faces and hands painted black. This stressed the silhouettes of the designs. Much the same applies to the new guise of Colombine, who is now entirely covered with a black-on-black lozenge pattern. Sometimes the lively shapes of Bustelli’s porcelain figurines play second fiddle to the painting. Here the figure gains new definition in the interplay of light on the shiny and matt silk areas, which brings out the textures and patterns. Conversely, Colombine’s facial expression is concealed and barely distinguishable. Only the mask – a stereotype, exaggerated and even to some extent misleading prop for Commedia dell’Arte figures, for the mask does not necessarily match the mood hidden behind the mask – supposedly provides a clue to her state of mind.
With their design for the Bustelli figure, Viktor & Rolf have fundamentally re-interpreted Colombine’s role in the Commedia dell’Arte. With her black dress and mask painted with a tear, they dramatically transform Isabella’s pert maid, who has no mind to be faithful to any man, into a figure of tragedy.
Individual figures are only available with Limit No. 16 – 25. It is not possible to order specific numbers. The figures will be supplied with a certificate in a gift box specially designed for the collection.