Designer IRIS VAN HERPEN presented her Spring Summer 2023 Couture Collection, that focuses on the importance of liberating the beauty of the female body, with a fashion film Carte Blanche, on January 23rd, during the ongoing Paris Haute Couture Week. For the video Van Herpen collaborated with French artist Julie Gautier. The film, that explores femininity and female beauty as a form of control, celebrates womanly bravery and perseverance. The brand uses the power of art to send a message of strength and resilience.
In the beginning three woman are melted together into a painting of skin, textures of growth and decay. The red heart of this female ocean drifts down alone into the deep depths of her own consciousness where she dances a journey of isolation and oppression moving into resilience and invincibility.
“The film Carte Blanche paints a picture of the female body as a tool to claim freedom as well as a weapon to oppress and control. It is an ode to the ongoing resilience and strength of women worldwide and to the strength of Iranian women whose’s bodies have served as a battlefield for ideology and authority. The sensual narrative is a forceful composition that conveys the power of the female body and its ability to take ownership of her beauty to challenge the status quo.
Iris Van Herpen and Gautier use the symbolism of water to subdue female shapes into a choreography that slowly disembodies control. Where the movements tell a story of fortitude, resistance and finding freedom. The film portrays female bravery and is a testament to how women can use their physicality and strength to resist oppression, fight for their rights, and encourage others to persevere in their individual journeys. Through the movie we are reminded of the power dynamics that exist in the world.” – from Iris van Herpen
Director: Julie Gautier & Iris van Herpen
Producer Behind the Mask
Co-director: Florian Fischer, Tony Meyer
Choreography: Julie Gautier
Production Manager: Tim de Deygere
Director of Photography: Florian Fischer
Photographer: Tony Meyer
Backstage Photography and Videography: Jip Mus
Casting Director: Maxime Valentini
Models: Julie Gautier, Gilone, Maya Sieron
Safety Diver: Dada Li
Edit: Dada Li
Florian Fischer
Music Composer: Miranda Vukasovic
Production Assistant: Nadia Bonnard
Make-up: Sofia Cabras
Location: Y-40 – The Deep Joy
