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See The Couture Fragrance Spot Antidote:
A COUTURE FRAGRANCE, Iconique Fashion Magazine exclusively presents the movie of Viktor & Rolf's Antidote, their first fragrance for men.
Above all, Antidote is the perfect expression of the original concept behind Viktor & Rolf Monsieur, the line of men's ready-to-wear launched by the two designers in 2003. Since their first collection, Viktor & Rolf have been working on the idea of classic men's wear for the unconventional man. Monsieur is a new take on gentlemanly elegance and the authentic lifestyle, from ultra casual to ultra formal.
Antidote is the olfactive extension of this point of view. It defines a one-of-a-kind style totally embodied by the Viktor & Rolf duo, representing a new ritual belonging to the contemporary look. Attentive to the hang, cut and detailing of each garment, this ritual celebrates the tradition of customized English tailoring in everyday wear.
Antidote's complex architecture is like a tailor-made suit. Its richness expresses a new masculine identity with multiple facets. It took nearly four hundred tests to obtain the final result. Each time, the fragrance had to be made even more sensuous, fresh and elegant. Each facet was polished repeatedly and painstakingly. In this respect, it qualifies as a genuine Couture fragrance: at each step of the creative process, Viktor & Rolf gave the green light, remaining true to that first moment when inspiration struck.
"Antidote may be our most autobiographical creation to date. It transcends duplication and cloning to uphold a certain spirit,” say Viktor & Rolf. In 1997, they exhibited a ‘real faux parfum’ at Amsterdam's Torch Gallery. Since then, the dream has come true and Antidote is part of their life: they wear it and personify it, as classicism echoes great eccentricity. Mixing fiction with fact and reality with fairytales, Viktor & Rolf are like apothecaries, charlatans in a global world, whose pockets are filled with magic potion recipes. They set out to ask men to discover the truth within themselves with Viktor & Rolf supplying the key. They offer a revelation of one’s own supreme power, the power of illusion that tells the truth: that one must search for strength deep within the self. Here, fantasy is viewed as a lifestyle, a perpetual struggle, a battle to triumph over danger and overcome all obstacles to happiness.
"We speak to men of conviction rather than men of certainties, men that believe in the supreme power of emotion. Antidote is more than a fragrance. It's an attitude. An attitude that opens a door in your mind and invites you to enjoy infinity’’ says the Dutch duo. “We don't see power as the arbitrary exercise of authority. We see it as a man's ability to change himself and the world around him. The idea is simple: look within yourself to find strength, like hidden treasure.”
Bearing the signature of master designer Fabien Baron, the glass bottle with beveled edges is like an apparition: its facets reflect into each other like mirrors. The liquid is green, equidistant from celestial blue and hell-fire red. A vision of emerald, like the vision of the Holy Grail whose colors, said alchemists, ‘possessed a mystic fire to which Nature submits with sovereign grace.’ Antidote dons this hopeful apparel. It clothes renewal in its warm, luminous and regenerating notes like the promise of another Spring: hope, strength and immortality. An intense black top stamped with a seal made of wax, ready to drip above the void, yet poised, motionless’ suspended in time.
Antidote was launched in June during Rufus Wainwright's Judy Garland tribute concert at Carnegie Hall. The singer was dressed in Viktor & Rolf Monsieur. Wainwright also created the special song for Antidote...