I battled through a sandstorm and scrums of Japanese photographers (my outfit today was rather chic) just to get to Viktor & Rolf. Once in, the next hazard was falling into people’s laps, so dark was the venue. But we were rewarded for our efforts. First with a bottle of Viktor & Rolf’s new perfume, Eau Mega, then with a live performance from Roisin Murphy (dressed like a ballerina in a pregnancy-disguising pink tulle tutu), and finally with a right jolly collection that had us laughing and coveting.

Gone were the political statements the boys have been favoring in recent seasons; today they were back to kooky collections—entertaining, yes, but totally wearable. They opened with a black tux jacket enveloped in layers of lavender tulle, followed by a succession of tulle confections in mint green, turquoise, lemon and baby blue, climaxing with massive meringue tulle dresses (there is surely no tulle left in the world), each razored away to create gravity-defying shapes. The duo said, ever-cheekily, that they cut the tulle from their gowns in response to the global recession, hence the title, Credit Crunch Couture.

While those were the looks that will be front page tomorrow, the real collection was sandwiched in between. Beautiful silk, slouchy pants were teamed with fluid tulle-covered tops with statement shoulders. Elegant rose motifs on camis, silk lounge pants, belted tunics and shorts reflected the origami roses on the shoes. All the while a huge (everything is big at V&R) globe spun on its axis at the end of the runway. If this is how Viktor & Rolf see the world, it must be the view from space—and we want to escape there with them.