Iris van Herpen

Iris van Herpen graduated from the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem in 2006[5] and interned at Alexander McQueen in London,[6] and Claudy Jongstra[7] in Amsterdam before launching her own label in 2007.[8] The Dutch designer debuted her first Couture collection 'Chemical Crows’, at the 2007 Amsterdam Fashion Week.[9]

3-D printed neckpiece by van Herpen, 2011.

Van Herpen pioneered the use of 3D printing techniques applied to the world of fashion[10] and shown her first 3D-printed garment at the 2010 Amsterdam Fashion Week. The ‘Crystallization’ top was inspired from the phase transition water undergoes when it crystallizes. The garment was 3D printed from white polyamide.[11]

Van Herpen's work can be described as interdisciplinary as she draws inspiration from professions outside of fashion and the arts. Therefore, the designer creates much of her work in collaboration with professionals working in fields of science, technology and architecture.[12] For example, her SS 2020 collection, Sensory Seas', drew inspiration from both marine ecology and the work of Spanish neuroanatomist Ramón y Cajal.[13] In 2010, Iris van Herpen undertook her first collaboration outside of fashion, when she collaborated with the Dutch architectural firm, Benthem Crouwel Architekten to create her ‘Water’ Dress.[11]

Critics describe Iris van Herpen's work as both organic and innovative.[14] With New York Times journalist Vanessa Friedman stating: "It's not that she rejects the heritage of the couture, she just redefines it with modern tools. Once upon a time the sewing machine did the same.”[15]

Van Herpen was one of the first designers to adopt 3D-printing as a garment construction technique.[7] Her design process utilises technologies such as rapid prototyping as one of the guiding principles in her work. Van Herpen is known for using radical materials such as dragon skin,[15] synthetic boat rigging or the whalebones of children's umbrellas.[14]

Since 2009, pop star Lady Gaga has been wearing Iris van Herpen's designs on several occasions. In 2012, Gaga wore a custom shiny black Couture dress for the launch of her perfume Fame. The shape of the perfume bottle served as the inspiration of the dress, which Van Herpen constructed from laser-cut strips of black acrylic.[2] Another material Van Herpen uses is Silicone and other Minerals like iron filings and resin.[16]

Because of van Herpen's multidisciplinary approach to creation, she has collaborated with various artists such as Jolan van der Wiel[17] and Neri Oxman[18] and architects such as Philip Beesley[19] and Benthem and Crouwel Architects.[20] The designer's interest in science and technology has led to ongoing conversations with CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research)[21] and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[22]

Further collaborations:

• Björk[23][24]
• Benjamin Millepied[25]
• Sasha Waltz[26]
• Nick Knight[27]

• TIME Magazine names Iris van Herpen's 3D printed dresses one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2011.[28]
• ANDAM Grand Prix Award (2014)[29]
• STARTS Prize, granted by the European Commission (2016)[30]
• Johannes Vermeer Award, Dutch state prize for the arts (2017)[31]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iris van Herpen.

• Official website