(Sept. 6, 2022 ● Oslin Pierrette)
I love Iris Van Herpen. One of my favorite creators. With a very nice architect and engineer background. Her approach to garment construction is very different, unlike anything I’ve seen. And it’s less storytelling, more visceral creation, and very intrinsic. She architects life in her creations. How the garments are an extension of the body, is lively, flows, and bounce with every step. Just a beautiful way of expression. Let the creation happen and take you places you haven’t been before. The best type of creation to me. Visceral raw creation.
Iris strategizes less. She doesn’t have fully conceptualized ideas planned out. She’s just creating on the brink and border of chaos and order, she creates on that edge. Taking her into this sweet spot of the zone of proximal development. She’s using the source of her ever expanding soul to take her places people haven’t been before. Which helps her constantly create innovations in fashion. It’s the reason why you see her work, and it’s just indescribable. Lot of her collections are so overwhelmingly beautiful, they usually leave me speechless.
One thing she said she’s inspired by is dance. Which is very apparent in her garments, the way they rhythmically bounce and flow. Like dance, there’s this harmonious relationship with her garment and body. Pictures of her work are amazing, but don’t do it the justice it deserves. Mainly because you need to see her work in motion. That’s where a lot of the magic and purpose of her designs live, in motion. Her work is meant to flow and dance.
One of Iris’ collections that I really like is her ‘19 Spring Couture Collection. One theme she talks about is how we are connected to the system of the sun, moon, and stars. You can see that in the use of color and light in the garments, how those aspects are so surreal. Some of the garments have this phoenix-like gradient and structure to it, relating to the sun, light, and new life.
