By Fashion Editorial Staff
Viktor&Rolf’s latest Marriage collection invites us into a world where regal codes are not simply referenced, but reinterpreted with sculptural clarity and conceptual rigor. For Spring–Summer 2026, the Dutch design duo offers a study in bridal grandeur—one that merges the lineage of courtly dress with the language of contemporary couture.
Rooted in the opulence of historical costume, particularly the ceremony and spectacle of European courts, the collection leans into volume, structure, and gesture. Bows emerge as a dominant motif—elevated from ornament to architecture. The standout Bow Abundance Gown builds an entire silhouette from cascading bows, each one meticulously constructed to evoke movement, intention, and formality undone.
Floral narratives thread through the collection with the same precision. The Blooming Pansies Lace Mini features hand-appliquéd pansies—historically favored by nobility—traced along the body like botanical filigree. That motif reaches full expression in the Cascading Bouquets Dream, a diaphanous gown where floating bouquets animate tiered tulle in a choreography of light and volume.
Silhouettes span the spectrum of ceremony: regal A-lines, sculptural ballgowns, elongated mermaids, and abbreviated minis—all executed with exacting technique. A custom bow jacquard developed in-house adds dimensionality, while Watteau trains, intricate pleating, and structured bodices draw from archival silhouettes without relying on pastiche. These are historical references made tactile, not nostalgic.
In collaboration with international bridalwear house Justin Alexander, the collection continues Viktor&Rolf’s long-standing exploration of contradiction—formality versus freedom, symbolism versus structure, artifice versus authenticity.
In this latest chapter, the wedding gown becomes a site of inquiry as much as adornment. Viktor&Rolf ask: What does it mean to marry tradition in the present tense? The answer is neither a return nor a rejection, but a reinvention—royal language recast as radical elegance.