By Silvia Manzoni. Cover image: Warren du Preez & Nick Thornton Jones for Iris van Herpen — Cosmica Dress, in collaboration with Kim Keever (print) Shift Souls Collection, 2019. Iris van Herpen, private collection

How should be looking like a Iris van Herpen exhibition? Deep beneath the surface of the oceans exists an almost invisible world, an ecosystem of plankton and microscopic organisms that coexist with marine creatures of iridescent colours. This single-celled and vibrant group of organisms gives life to Sculpting the Senses, the exhibition dedicated to Iris van Herpen at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Sculpting the Senses – An Immersive Retrospective of Iris van Herpern

The exhibition is a fascinating overview of the creative process of this 39-year-old Dutch designer who dresses Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Björk and Lady Gaga. 

The kinetic movement of the fluid and shiny crinolines welcomes visitors at Iris van Herpen exhibition in Paris with an immersive blue atmosphere; it is a crescendo of water vapour on which Iris’s creatures dance with wave-like silhouettes, revealing themselves almost as holograms. Gowns are a poetic tangle of spirals. They provoke, seduce, and look difficult to wear until they conform to the body, magnetically attracted by its shapes and the perspective changes. Dresses in metamorphosis, which sculpt and envelop the senses (to paraphrase the title of the exhibition, Sculpting the Senses), are made of materials that seem to have come on Earth from other planets.

Tulle, of course, but also blown glass, acrylic glass, recycled plastic, and laser cut or marbled glass using the Japanese Suminagashi technique. Her fashion designs combine art and science, the illustrated prints of 17th-century botanists, anatomical studies, Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the deeds of Japanese heroes. 
The mythology of Iris Van Herpen tells stories that transcend the frontiers of time. Her creations are a fusion of textiles that resemble flowers, shells, reptiles, butterflies, fossils, or even electrical traces on the body to support architectural designs with a cosmic flavour.

More than fashion: Iris van Herpen exhibition it’s a work of art

«This is not just a fashion exhibition. Here we talk about biology, science, art, engineering », she says, holding herself upright with her slender figure, very long hair, and the air of a pre-Raphaelite heroine. Alongside the clothes, works by artists with whom the couturière collaborated or who were a starting point for new ideas are exhibited. «It was a careful selection», she underlines, «It was important to have them close on this occasion». 

Iris was born in Wamel, a village not far from Den Bosch, the birthplace of the painter Jeronimus Bosch and the observation of his fantastic figures and his sinister and mystical compositions forged her taste for alchemy and surrealism. 

A journey between ancestral craftsmanship and 3D materials

A series of films projected in the exhibition allows the visitor to enter her Amsterdam atelier, whose large windows overlook one of the city’s canals.
We learn that the collections begin with materials, blending ancestral craftsmanship with avant-garde techniques. High-end couture is pushed beyond its limits, using 3D and multidisciplinary approaches to convey a strong synesthetic message. As you reach the end of this journey, with your head full of ethereal visions that seem to defy the laws of gravity, you land on a flying carpet of images and dreams. 

Iris Van Herpen’s creations possess a hypnotic power, capable of subjugating and shaking the routine of couture. «I am honoured to be here – she says, smiling – I have attended many exhibitions in this museum, and the idea of coming here today with my fashion excites me. People can get closer to my work and better understand what’s behind the creations and where the inspirations come from».

2023 has been an important year for the designer, as a book about her work has just been released. In January 2024, we will find her at couture week again. «But it won’t be a traditional catwalk. You’ll see a different kind of show». 

That’s Iris, always against all odds.
Iris Van Herpen. Sculpting the Senses
Until April 28, 2024
Musée des Arts Décoratifs
107, rue de Rivoli 75001 Paris