Iris Van Herpen shakes the fashion world each time she reveals her collections. She veers away from trends and dives into a world of technological advancement. Her claim to fame is her “alchemist” approach to fashion – collaborating with artists Jolan van der Wiel and Bart Hess, blending an architectural perspective with Philip Beesley, and joining forces with MIT to 3D-print her astonishing dresses.

Van Herpen graduated from ArtEZ Institute of the Arts Arnhem in 2007 and began her career in 2008 with a show at Amsterdam Fashion Week. She was quickly noticed for her intricate, handmade dresses made from unique materials like the ribs of children’s umbrellas (a dress in her first collection – “Chemical Crows”).

Recently, I had the opportunity to explore her exhibit, Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion, at the Dallas Museum of Art. Her detailed designs led me to ponder interpretations of the world through her eyes and my own.

Hybrid Holism (July 2012)

My immediate thought was: I’d wear that. This was the first bright color I’d seen in Van Herpen’s exhibit, which immediately drew me to the piece. The structure of the dress reminded me of a mass of coral or a bed of freshly fallen autumn leaves. In the same vein, its 3D-printed material seemed to walk the line between the rock-hard strength of coral and the fragility of dry, dead leaves; as if when you stepped on the material, it might either remain untouched or shatter at your footfall.

Van Herpen based this collection off of Philip Beesley’s architectural project "Hylozoic Ground”, in which the environment responds to individuals passing through it. She envisioned a future of fashion involving unique shapes that change and grow as we do, fashion we treasure and treat more specially than the pieces we have now because of their shape-shifting quality. This dress embodied that sentiment most effectively. The ends of the dress appeared unfinished, reaching out towards growth that was yet to come, much like tendrils of coral. Its shape cradles the human wearer similarly to how coral houses a plethora of sea life within its walls. In mimicking the environment and interacting with the human wearer, the dress becomes part of a malleable symbiotic relationship. I began to wonder: will we one day don ourselves in dresses with DNA of their own?

Voltage (January 2013)

Of all of Van Herpen’s collections, “Voltage” was my favorite. I enjoyed most how she manipulated the visual effect of each piece using glossy materials, unconventionally sharp textures, and contrasting colors – a combination of techniques she’d used in the past. This dress distinguished itself because of its flared shape and deadly appearance. The mannequin was engulfed in the expanse of the dress, swallowed by feathery wisps crystallizing on a black sea. The sheer number of closely-placed white strips gives an illusion of softness. Those spikes are made of a 3D-printed material that when still, seems sharp, but flows with the body as it moves, much like the effects of electric shock. First, you feel the sharp pang, and then fuzziness as a charge courses through your body.

Interestingly enough, this collection reminded me more of microorganisms than the “Micro” collection (January 2012).

Van Herpen aimed to highlight the electricity flowing through the human form with this collection. Each piece emitted its own energy. Anyone who steps into this dress will transfer their own energy to the piece, and the dress will emphasize their uniqueness in return. I began to reflect and asked, “Will we harness the ability to wear our internal electrical impulses as this dress portrays?”

Hacking Infinity (March 2015)

At first, this dress seems foolishly impractical and stiff, but the beauty of this dress is lost in its still form. It truly shines when a model walks down the runway, exposing the material’s flexible, iridescent qualities.

Instead of changing geographies, this dress reminded me of the connection between mathematics and fashion. I’m not talking the economics of the industry. The idea of symmetry runs through each of the three dresses I’ve written about – that’s a geometry concept. While not every Iris Van Herpen dress exhibits symmetrical qualities, the idea of one half identical to the other is prevalent from fast fashion to haute couture. This dress reminded me of a literal infinity, one represented most tangibly by standing between two mirrors and witnessing yourself multiply into oblivion. When I saw the model walking down the runway in the accompanying video, I could only think “the limit does not exist.” And when it comes to Iris Van Herpen’s creativity, that is surely the case.

Disturbing Elements

One dress from the “Wilderness Embodied” collection completely threw me off guard. Its use of gull skulls (yes, real ones) disgusted me to the point of being unable to take a picture of comfortably post the photo here in case my readers, too, were disgusted. Van Herpen’s earlier works involved a hefty amount of leather, which I disapprove of, and I had hoped 3D printing would abolish the need for animal skins. Sadly, I was disappointed. Yet, the dress left me pondering why we don’t recoil at the sight of leather in fashion, yet cannot handle the skull of a dead bird. Are our cultural biases clouding our creative pursuits? Or are our creative pursuits mutilating the world we admire through our art, the world we are inspired by?

Though one of my pet peeves is when an article closes with a stream of philosophical questions, I have done just that. Questioning is an integral part of art, and I find art to leave me with more queries than answers.

If you have the chance to visit the Dallas Museum of Art and see this exhibit, it is available until August 20^th. I definitely recommend going with a friend or family member to discuss with as you go along. This was one of those exhibits where thoughts bubble right out!