In October 2002, the Dutch fashion house Viktor & Rolf launched their spring and summer collection of 2003, Flowers. In 2004, one of the dresses in this collection was bought by the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. 1 This dress, Flowers: Abbey is shown below in figure 1. Viktor & Rolf made a pair of matching shoes (figure 2). Viktor & Rolf have the ambition to integrate in the design and art world.2 Regarding style and form, silhouette is an important aspect of their couture. 3 Fashion is part of the study of material culture. Material culture is a discipline which looks at history and society through objects, studying the values, ideas, attitudes and assumptions of a certain society. One of the scholars who studies material culture is Jules David Prown. Prown designed a method to analyze objects. 4 This method is going to be applied on Flowers: Abbey by Viktor & Rolf. Can this method of analyzing give interesting insights to the dress Flowers: Abbey? Figure 2 Flowers: Abbey (pair of shoes), Viktor & Rolf, spring collection, source; http://centraalmuseum.nl/ontdekken/object/?img_only=1#o:34670 Prown's method Prown designed this method, to analyze objects objectively and thoroughly. He start analyzing the basic features of an object before saying anything about the relation of an object to culture and society.5 Prowns method can be used for fashion and design because they are objects and belong therefore to material culture. It is interesting to start analyzing an object discussing its basic features and exploring them to come up with more complex theories. Yet there are also some difficulties in Prown's method. Within Prown's method relations with other (similar) objects are being neglected. Also could an analysis made with this method be a subjective one, because the observations and opinions of only one person are discussed. Prown's method consists of three steps: description deduction and speculation. The description begins with a substantial analysis, discussing aspects as size and material. When art and decorated items are being analyzed, one should also discuss the content. This is the case when analyzing a dress. The last phase of the description, the formal analysis, describes formal aspects: how an object is organized. The second stage, the deduction, deals with the interpretations and the emotions of the viewer in relation to the object. The first step is the sensory engagement, describing how an object physically feels. The second step is the intellectual engagement, which deals with how the object works or what it does. The final step is the emotional response, dealing with the emotions and feelings an object arouses. In the last phase of the method, the speculation, theories, hypotheses and program of research are being discussed. 6 Prown's Method applied Now Prown's method is clarified, it will be applied on the dress, Flowers: Abbey, starting with the description. The first thing anyone would notice is that the dress is covered with hundreds of silk roses (figure 3). Chances are that most might regard these roses as kitsch. Figure 3 Bouquet of Silk Flowers The roses on the dress are in pastel tones of pink, red, orange, blue and yellow . The size of the dress is enormous. Its silhouette is very prominent, as in many other creations of Viktor & Rolf. The sleeves of the dress are short and round. The top of the dress and the skirt are divided, at the waist by a black lace. The dress has a large A-line, reaching till the ankles. Under the dress is a black petticoat. These black details are in contrast with the pastel colors. Regarding the content, the shape of the dress makes one think of dresses of the 19th century America; the ones one sees in movie like Gone With The Wind (1939) (figure 4.). The flowers give the surface of the dress some kind of dept. One could imagine, that when somebody wears this dress and moves, it will swing and the flowers will be moving, producing a certain rhythm. Figure 4 Filmstill of Vivian Leigh in Gone With The Wind, 1939, source; http://www.imdb.com/media/rm08/tt Regarding the deduction, sensory and emotional aspects are being covered. Although it is not possible to touch the dress, because it is part of the collection of the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, it is possible to imagine how it feels. Anyone who has ever touched a silk flower, would know how this dress must feel like. When one imagines how this dress feels, it is also important how a dress would feel like when in fact wearing it. The dress might be uncomfortable, due to its size. A dress is meant to be worn and this dress would not do for everyday life, but on extravagant occasions. The dress is thus very extravagant and therefore calls up many emotions like cheerfulness. The dress looks like a flower field. It might even remind one of their childhood. But these are not the only feelings one might get of this dress. When having a better look, the black details become clear. These black ribbons recall mourning-ribbons(figure 4) and recall some kind of bitterness. Figure 5 Bouquet with black mouring-ribbon Now we have arrived at the last part of Prown's method, the speculation. The dress is an evening gown for extravagant occasions. Both the model and the textile of the dress have kitsch connotations. The model recalls kitsch American traditional tailoring like is portrayed in films like Gone With The Wind(1939). The textile recalls, as earlier mentioned, silk flowers. These two kitschy elements are exaggerated and reinforcing each other. The black details are in contrast with these kitsch elements. This contrast makes the dress interesting. Contrasting emotions and connotations are being recalled. One could state that this dress is like a paradox. Viktor & Rolf have probably played with these kitschy factors and these contrasts. It would be interesting to research if this interest in kitsch and paradoxes are a theme in this spring collection of 2003 or maybe in their entire oeuvre. Conclusion When using Prowns's method one could come up with some interesting findings about a dress like Flowers: Abbey. Every detail and feeling about an object will come up. Yet there are some aspects that will be under-exposed when using Prown's method. There is no notice of any context. The other dresses of Viktor & Rolf's spring collection in 2003 are not mentioned, let alone their oeuvre. Even the matching pair of shoes Viktor & Rolf designed is not discussed. Furthermore is there no notice for fashion and the fashion industry within Prown's method. Yet Prown's method is very interesting to use as a starting point analyzing an object. Other methods or viewpoints could be combined with this analysis of objects. Literature Agerman, Review: The House of Viktor & Rolf, Icon Magazine Online , December 2005 Kennedy, A Creative Collaboration Between Viktor & Rolf and Studio Job, www. Design.nl, October 2009 Prown, Jules David, Mind in Matter, An Introduction to Material Culture Theory and Method, Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 17, No, 1, Chicago, 1982, The Univeristy of Chicago Press www.centraalmuseumutrecht.nl www.imdb.com www.vogue.com 1 http://centraalmuseum.nl/ontdekken/object/?img_only=1#o:29013 2 Kennedy, 2009 3 Agerman, 2005 4 Prown, 1982 5 Prown, 1982 6 Prown, 1982