AP-EU-France-Fashion-Viktor-&-Rolf,0349< 222 glbh par parf parp intw apn eurw

2009-03-09 23:02:08 -

PARIS (AP) - Stiffness never looked this good.
Dutch design duo Viktor & Rolf sent out a winter 2010 ready-to-wear collection of geometrically precise tromp l'oeil draping that was almost as static as the Greek statues clustered at the top of the runway which set the tone of Monday's show.
It was the antithesis of the red

carpet goddess dress _ draped with wild abandon in fluttering chiffon _ that's a perennial favorite of Hollywood starlets.
There were no feather-light silks, no liquid silk folds, just a razor-cut design of folds that looked like the draping on a toga reduced to its essence. Trench coats in taupe wool, long skirts in putty _ all were adorned with the decorative folds.
Other looks were covered in origami pleating that looked like it had been made from flattened hexagonal boxes. A voluminous belted coat was entirely covered with the origami pleats.
In an ingenuous clin d'oeil to the garden of Greek sculptures, the collection included a strapless dress with a stiff bust, like a plaster body cast, and a long skirt in starched velvet, with perfectly draped pleats.
The models' faces, which were painted white, also looked like they'd been coated with a thin layer of plaster.