Jamie Bochert opened the Autumn/Winter 2012 Viktor & Rolf show, styled by Dazed and Confused Katie Shillingford, the mood of the collection was immediately set. Tense, dark glamour the order of the day with a serious untamed streak as models swept down a twisting catwalk in sheared sculptural furs and dresses trimmed with mink, under the backdrop of a full-moon projection. The wild things come out at night for Viktor & Rolf and when they do, they're dressed wholly for seduction.
Olivier Rousteing is the new designer at Balmain, but only in a manner of speaking. The 25-year-old Frenchman has already put in two and a half years at the house, working as an assistant to Christophe Decarnin just as Pierre Balmain burst to recognition in Paris with its superluxe rocker-girl aesthetic comprised of glitter pelmet dresses, skinny jeans, and tennis ball-shouldered jackets. Resort is the first season in which Rousteing has had control of the collection since Decarnins exit earlier in the year, and by the looks of the "Elvis in Vegas" theme hes worked, the precociously experienced designer (he has a pedigree that stretches back to working with Roberto Cavalli in Italy) is set on preserving continuity.