The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow
Get an exclusive look at RVDK Ronald Van Der Kemp‘s innovative Spring 2025 couture fashion show from the runways of Paris Couture Fashion Week, held in January 2025.
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Opulent, upcycled optimism.
There’s no two ways about it: the future looks bleak. If you’re paying attention, you’d be right to be terrified by the rise of climate catastrophe, fascists in office, dominance of corporate tech billionaires – in other words, everything that Ronald Van Der Kemp stands against.
RVDK has long advocated for a “new ethics in fashion,” an approach that trades unsustainable practices and corporate homogeneity for a 100% recycled, fiercely individualistic approach. After celebrating the tenth anniversary of his brand with a New York City show last season, he now returns to his home base of Paris for a collection that reminds us that the sun always bursts through the dark clouds.
This theme was boldly established by the first look, a sleeveless tiered hobble dress crafted from repurposed upholstery and deadstock fabrics that climbed upward into a wreath of golden flame. But the next look brought us back to the somber: an all-black piece with dramatically ballooning sleeves finished with intricate smocking and gem appliqués complete with a helm: a couture suit of armor to protect its wearer from the dread of contemporary life.
From here RVDK further teased out this tension of brilliant sunshine and morose black clouds, following up looks that look like an eccentrically elegant patron of the arts going to her late husband’s funeral with looks worthy of an art-deco sun goddess, until arriving at a joyful and passionate explosion of color toward the finale.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
With its extreme exclusivity and escapist visions of historical fantasy, couture can often feel out of touch with the reality of the world in which it exists. But Ronald Van Der Kemp offers a radical alternative. While leaning into that aspect of fantasy and theatricality, he demonstrates that creative imagination is essential for engaging with our world and working toward a brighter future.
But it’s not just going to happen on its own: literally transforming the waste of the past into beautiful pieces of wearable contemporary art, the designer calls us on to get to work and start imagining less wasteful, less corporate, more creative, more ethical ways forward. The sun will come out tomorrow, and RVDK has helped us to see how.
