The expressive landscapes of Vincent van Gogh provided the visual cues for giant 3D flowers and enormous straw hats in Dutch fashion house Viktor & Rolf's Spring Summer 2015 haute-couture collection (+ slideshow).

During the Paris Fashion Week show yesterday, Viktor & Rolf presented A-line dresses with floral patterns and appliquéd petals that were inspired by the Dutch impressionist's paintings.

"The essence of the countryside is translated into unexpected, sculptural looks that combine abstract graphic volumes with organic elements," said the designers.

The show began with the most demure outfits, featuring black flowers outlined on white babydoll dresses. These were worn with straw boater hats with stalks extended from their brims.

Every outfit shown in the Van Gogh Girls collection was more elaborate than the one before, with silhouettes becoming more dramatic and pastel tones introduced.

The hats also gained size and volume, with longer strands arranged into different splayed forms or woven into intricate patterns.

Gradually the two-dimensional flower motifs were turned into 3D adornments on the edges and shoulders of the dresses.

For one design, the dark outlines extended out of the skirt into a delicate open lace that joined the horizontal lengths of straw emanating from the hat.

The headgear and dresses continued to merge, as colours became more intense and the decorative fabric flowers reached further from the garments.

White hems interwoven with thick black ribbon accompanied the floral embellishments, paired with sandals in matching prints.

Bright summer hues gave way to earthy autumnal tones, culminating in a final look where the dress itself curved out to become integrated with the giant straw headpiece.

All of the fabrics were wax-dyed and block-printed using a batik technique by Dutch fabric company VLISCO.

"This ensures an unique high quality print with craquelé indigo lines and intense vibrant colours on both sides of the cloth," the designers said.

After the show, art collector Han Nefkens acquired three of the pieces for the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Netherlands.

This year's season of haute-couture shows also saw the return of disgraced fashion designer John Galliano, who debuted his comeback collection for Maison Martin Margiela in London.