#PFW: Iris van Herpen Fall Winter 2018.19 Haute Couture Collection

Discover Iris van Herpen‘s Fall Winter 2018.19 Syntopia Couture Collection, presented on Monday July 2nd, at Le Trianon, during the ongoing Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture. The collection was inspired by synthetic biology and the intertwining relationships between the organic and the inorganic, exploring the intersection between technology and biology.

Couture Collections

“For Syntopia, Van Herpen collaborates with the artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of Studio Drift, whose biomimic designs translate natural processes by breathing life into delicate immersive sculptures through movement. For this show Studio Drift has created a spatial kinetic installation ‘in 18 steps’ constructed of 18 delicate glass wings that represent all the different steps of flying in an abstract way. The vivacious glass bird flows in symbiosis with the models while they move over the runway, their delicate interaction emphasizes the fragility of new worlds living and soaring together.“

“As a former dancer, the transformation within movement has hypnotized me. For this collection I looked closely at the minutiae of bird flight and the intricate echoing forms within avian motion. The artists Studio Drift and the scientist Etienne Jules Marey inspired me to look more closely at the draping of a garment through chronophotography. By slowing down time into split seconds I started breaking down the usual draping of fabric, to then layer the miliseconds all slightly shifted, like the layering of a bird’s feather.” – Iris van Herpen