Iris van Herpen : goddess of Atlantis
Distinctions
Iris van Herpen is a phenomenon in the world of haute couture.
A visionary, her approach is multidisciplinary: fashion, contemporary art, design, science; she knows no boundaries and explores the infinitely large as well as the infinitely small.
A pioneer in the use of new technologies in her discipline, she calls on all types of know-how, from the most traditional to the most innovative.
Her strengths: her inquisitive mind and her mastery of all materials, including the most unlikely, from silk to stainless steel to textures she creates herself.
Her element of choice: WATER.
Iris van Herpen is a true Atlantean goddess, watching over an idyllic world where time is suspended and matter in suspension.
Her background
Born in 1984 in Wamel, a small village in the Netherlands, Iris van Herpen inherited a passion for classical dance from her mother, a ballet teacher.
This gave her an in-depth knowledge of the body in movement and an attachment to grace and the subtlety of lightness.
As a teenager, she developed a passion for mathematics and biology.
Her interest in materials led her to the creation of clothing. In 2006, she graduated from the fashion design department of the Artez Arts Institute in Arnhem, before training alongside Alexander McQuenn in the English capital.
In 2007, in Amsterdam, Iris van Herpen launched her own brand, which would bear her name, and in 2011, she became a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris.
Her success is immediate, and many celebrities wear her creations. Among the most famous are Queen Maxima of Holland, actress Nathalie Portman and singers Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.
Numerous exhibitions pay tribute to her work, including:
– Iris van Herpen. Sculpting the Senses” at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, from November 29, 2023 to April 28, 2024
– Hybrid, organized during Paris Fashion Week (January 24, 2024)
Plunge into her dream world
As early as 2011 and her first steps on the Paris haute couture catwalks, she took the world by surprise.
Iris van Herpen is from another world.
First and foremost, Iris van Herpen’s technique is unprecedented.
Her use of 3D printers and lasers, for example, to mold silicone dresses onto models’ bodies, complements her exceptional traditional skills.
Each of her collections, each of her garments, is the fruit of a unique treatment of material, with no limits to the choice of material: silk, synthetic silk, tulle, silicone, stainless steel, organza, glass organza, Mylar¹, PetG, Swarovski crystals, silk thread, crepe de Chine, embroidery thread, acrylic, brass, monofilament, geared motor, eco-leather, duchess tulle, laser-cut duchess satin, laser-cut crepe, laser-cut and heat-molded PetG, silicone, microfiber, metal, leather, nylon…
Iris van Herpen’s relationship with time is not of this century.
Iris van Herpen goes against the grain of our fast-paced times, when the creation and production of a dress can take a few hours or a few days.
Iris van Herpen is the antithesis of fast fashion.
Secluded in the Dutch countryside, surrounded by nature and animals, she takes the time to feel and create, from the depths of her being, designs inspired by the Universe.
The dresses in her Hybrid collection, for example, were created in six months and, more recently, her sculptures, in one year.
Iris van Herpen’s intention is above all poetic.
“To awaken our senses through a sensitive balance of textures, shapes and colors”.
Her creations don’t simply cover the body, they extend it, complete it, bring it to life.
Marine animals, coral structures, each cm2 of creation, evolving with a breath or a movement, evokes the grandeur of aquatic life, and thus, in all its majesty, the grandeur of all life.
By reviving this idyllic, forgotten and much-fantasized world, Iris van Herpen magnificently embodies the goddess role of Atlantis.
¹ Mylar: “Highly resistant polyester providing very thin films” (Robert’s Dictionary)
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