FASHION

Iris Van Herpen FW 2013 Haute Couture, Paris

Appropriately titled Wilderness Embodied, Iris Van Herpen’s latest Haute Couture Collection presents an exploration of nature’s conflicting forces realized on the human form. Aesthetically, the collection presents a thrillingly inventive interpretation of natures textures, elements, and colors. Origami-esc silk looks are juxtaposed with otherworldly materials and textures. This inventive combination creates a visual intrigue that obliterates the lines separating fashion, art, and science. After each look has made its way down the entry hall of the Palais de La Découverte, one is merely left with the question, “how did she do it?”

Since her debut as an invited member of the Chambre syndicale de la Haute Couture in 2011, Iris van Herpen has consistently embodied fashion at its fullest collaborative potential. Every season, we are stunned by the craftsmanship, imagination, innovation, and the beautifully grotesque nature that is inherent in her work. This season is no exception as the designer continues to cultivate the latest 3D printing technology in cooperation with classic atelier technique. While the designer is no stranger to using 3D printing, she has yet again raised the innovative bar with her first-ever hybrid dress – one that combines transparent, bone-like resin pieces (produced by mammoth stereolythography) with hands-on craftsmanship, including an extremely difficult silicone over-molding technique that took weeks to complete. The result is quite simply a visual feast. The designer has also collaborated with United Nude to create twelve pairs of 3D printed shoes inspired by tree roots.

What is perhaps most exciting about this collection more so than its avant-garde visual appeal is that Iris Van Herpen has presented us with something genuinely new - something potentially revolutionary. Such a collection is deserving of recognition and praise and is truly a rare breath of fresh air.