Iris Van Herpen’s 3D Printed Fashion Creations Combine Haut-Couture And Hi-Tec With Eco Responsibility

Image Courtesy of Iris Van Herpen

Iris van Herpen’s couture is not only a representation of her precision artisan skills as a technological savvy fashion designer, but also a keen explorer in pushing the boundaries of science in all of its hope and futurism.   

Her Spring 2021 presentation of this year was a stunning achievement, integrating earthy tones into her now synonymous 3D printed flowing styles, sourcing, as an inspiration, the biological study of Mycology.  

With her Spring couture showing endorsing the plastic recycle company Parley for the Oceans, who scour the global oceans and seashores for the tons of throwaway consumer plastic that flow within the ocean currents, that either ending up dumped on beaches or consumed by wildlife. 

To which Van Herpen has used these recycled polyester fabrics in some of her more elaborate 3D printed styles.

Van Herpen’s Fall 2021 couture has been titled “Earthrise” despite it still within the lookbook setting, the Dutch designer has incorporated a vast and cinematographic perspective to her new collection.  

Themed by the intensity that nature has to offer and its awe inspiring power, her latest Couture showing is truly a grand spectacle, with models walking through and posing in front of formidable natural landscapes, whilst having Domitille Kiger, the world champion French skydiver leap from a plane with a Van Herpen Fall 2021 couture dress on.   

It is one of the most emotionally driven fashion film clips to come out of the lockdowns, a motivation piece more than not, witnessing the Earth rise from the moon at the start of the clip, to its ending, as the Sun rises, as viewed from the Earth.   I

f there is a unambiguous lesson here, it would be, we, as human beings are truly nothing and yet everything within the natural cycle.  

At the maison of Iris van Herpen, Haute Couture is a transformative force that transcends boundaries and unites multi-disciplinary technologies with intricate artisanal craftsmanship.

The brand's visionary creations merge pioneering techniques and luxurious materials, often evoking a sense of avant-garde wonder.

Whether shaping a dress through electromagnetic weaving or sculpting one from 3D hand-cast transparent leather, the maison challenges traditional notions of the handmade to create ethereal garments that are radically future-facing and exquisitely feminine.

 Founded in 2007, the brand showcases its collections bi-annually at the exclusive Paris Haute Couture Week as a member of the Fédération de la Haute Couture.

The maison’s ambition to reinvent the métier as the engine of innovation, pushing forward sustainability as second nature and materiality is mirrored in its inter-disciplinary approach to art and fashion.

Each collection is a quest to venture beyond today's definition of a garment, exploring new forms of expression for a more meaningful, diverse and conscious fashion for the future. 

Celebrating female empowerment, the maison values a collaborative design process with inspirational women such as the brand’s cherished global clientele and extraordinary muses like Cate Blanchett, Beyoncé, Scarlett Johansson, Lady Gaga, Fan Bingbing and Naomi Campbell. 

Bespoke designs are meticulously crafted for an international clientage from within the illustrious Haute Couture atelier. 

Organic, innovative femininity is expressed through state-of-the-art Couture that embraces individuality powerfully and fearlessly.

Through symbiotic collaborations with artists from all stripes such as the choreographer Damien Jalet, the performative artist Björk, the kinetic artist Anthony Howe, the trans-disciplinary architect Philip Beesley or the computational artist Neri Oxman the brand challenges the future of fashion by rethinking previously unimaginable ways of Haute Couture.