At first blush, the Dutch design duo Viktor & Rolf would seem unlikely advocates of bordello chic. V&R tends to an ascetic aesthetic: sexless and edgy statement dressing, the kind of oddball pieces that only an avant-garde fashion fan like actress Tilda Swinton can wear.
Bordello chic last had a moment at the end of Tom Ford's tenure at Gucci. I remember sitting in a hotel banquet room in Milan as 20 portly menopausal journalists drooled over his every word. Now, they knew intellectually that Ford is gay, but our Tom had the old gals batting their eyelashes. This was 1997, when the Russian oligarchs and their floozies first invaded Britain. Gucci was on the case, offering ruched skirts very similar to this one by V&R. Never one to mince, Ford proclaimed the collection a tribute to antebellum bordellos. (Think fabrics ripped from the curtains and lampshades with fringes on them.)
A true Viktor & Rolf woman would take this skirt and smooth its tarty edges with a slick black turtleneck and some high, flat suede boots. She would keep the hair in a smooth low ponytail.
We found a nifty knockoff at a pleasant little Goth niche on Toronto's Queen Street West. Hell's Belles, a go-to for trendy Goths (yes, they exist), has this slinky, inky black number for $90 (visit www.hellsbellesclothing.com for details).
In the end, Goth is a great cultural exploration of the line between sleazy and scary. A great Goth ensemble errs on the side of classy. And if pulled off expertly, nothing is sexier. I would even recommend putting a swoopy cape over it.
Think of it as the icing on the sweet-yet-savoury bordello cake.