Contemporary fashion and 3-D printing technology are colliding this weekend at the Phoenix Art Museum with the new exhibit “Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion.”
The exhibit will feature 45 different dresses and designs for 15 collections created by acclaimed Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen. Herpen is widely known for the radical constructions and creations that she refers to as “New Couture.”
Since her first runway show in 2007, van Herpen’s works have been widely acclaimed for their originality and innovation, combining technology with fashion to create unique and complex designs. Her methods include cutting and piecing together complex 3-D printed pieces that attach with printed assembly parts by hand.
Van Herpen has inspired and designed collaborations with famous musicians, including Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, and actresses such as Scarlett Johansson. Many of the pieces featured in this exhibit were designed for Icelandic singer Björk.
“We’re delighted to bring the singular vision of Iris van Herpen to Phoenix Art Museum,” CEO of Phoenix Art Museum Amada Cruz, said in a press release. “Her multidisciplinary approach to creation, melding art, science, and architecture with traditional methods of garment construction represent radical, contemporary vision that we’re proud to host in our Museum.”
The process of working and designing with 3D print technology is very different from van Herpen’s normal process of design.
“I mostly don’t sketch, I do the draping on the mannequin,” van Herpen said. “Before I start draping, I don’t know how the final design will look but that’s why the whole process with the 3-D printing is so opposite to my normal process, because I have to decide on every millimeter beforehand.”
The exhibit collaboration with Phoenix Art Museum began when Dennita Sewell of the Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design attended a conference in Europe. She was looking to purchase a fashion piece to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Arizona Costume Institute. After being invited to Antwerp by van Herpen’s assistant, Sewell was able to find the “Eleventh” dress, an extremely intricate 3-D printed dress from the Fall/Winter 2014 “Biopiracy” collection.
“(Iris) is really sort of a person that everyone is really amazed with in the level of creativity and the combination of technology,” Sewell said. “She’s pushing the boundaries of what fashion is as an art form and how it relates to our society.”
“Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion” will be open to the public from Feb. 24 through May 13. Admission is free for Museum members. Tickets are available online.
Contact the reporter at smedwar7@asu.edu.
Sara Edwards was the executive editor of Downtown Devil. She is a graduate student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Sara has additional bylines in Phoenix New Times, West Valley View, L.A. Downtown News and Boardwalk Times.
Sara is also the co-secretary for the Multicultural Student Journalists Coalition.
