Dresses draped like fluorescent wings of exotic insects. With each step, the layers of the dress lift up like flaps of wings, making the models seem to float a little above the ground. Geometrical forms merge with intensive colors and unusual fabrics to exotic and futuristic dream creatures. Enchanted silence. An ode to the eye.
Watching an Iris Van Herpen show you can never be quite sure whether the models are human or mutations out of insects and people from the future. Since completing her Fashion Design studies at Artez Institute of theArts Arnhem in 2006, she has gathered a wide range of inspiration on her travels, which she finally implemented in 2007 in her first collection”Fragile Futurity”. Her aesthetic vision is unique and regularly explores the limits of what is possible. In her works, technology and traditional couture craftsmanship merge to create a unique version of the present. During her fashion design studies in the Netherlands, she gained experience with Alexander McQueen in London, Viktor & Rolf in Paris and Claudy Jongstra in Amsterdam.
Her approach to design goes beyond fashion and is described on her website as “multidisciplinary”. One of the first fashion designers in the world to experiment with 3D printing for her catwalk models soon proved to be a guarantee of international recognition. Even today, the process is still an integral part of collection creation, but many other techniques also characterise van Herpen’s signature. Shiny materials and the alternation between free view of the body and concealment are characteristic.Metallic silk, polyamide powder or smocked leather are naturally found alongside tulle and pleated organza in the material range. Working with lasercutters is also essential. Nature is always her important source of inspiration. Thus, her collections in the form of dreamlike fairy tales tell stories about the end of our world in various scenarios.
Today Iris van Herpen works in her Amsterdam studio. Every creation is created by the designer herself and she is considered “the most avant-garde fashion designer of our time”. Her approach to fashion makes her a pioneer. She is always working on new ways of using materials and is looking for new shapes and silhouettes. Often this seems abstract, deliberately futuristic, almost a bit away from the present. Just future-oriented and with a message. This is exactly what innovative fashion needs.
