Known for her avant-garde approach toward couture, Iris van Herpen made a striking comeback to Paris Haute Couture Week with her Fall-Winter 2024-2025 collection, « Hybrid. » Expected to be one of the most highly anticipated runway shows, this performance broke away from usual presentations, turning into an intriguing 45-minute performance blurring the lines between fashion, art, and sculpture.
Van Herpen’s « off-body sculptures, » massive artworks suspended by steel tubes that hovered ethereally in the room, were the exhibition’s focal point. These sculptures, created with great craftsmanship and artistic vision, broke fashion traditions by transforming couture into abstract, three-dimensional shapes. Each item, from the algae-like « Ancient Ancestors » embellished with coral-like 3D-printed structures powdered in sand, to the elaborate oil-painted tulle compositions « Weightlessness of the Unknown » and « Embers of the Mind, » represented the close relationship between science and nature that van Herpen had.
Five couture pieces that perfectly captured van Herpen’s distinctive fusion of creativity and skill were also included in the collection. Garments were embellished with rhythmic bursts of pearls, and a delicate interplay of light and texture was created by transparent, glass-infused organza constructions that were precisely shaped. Van Herpen’s ability to push the limits of fashion design by fusing cutting-edge technology with traditional couture techniques was evident in every piece of clothing.
Van Herpen’s colleague, Salvador Breed, produced a soundscape to go along with the spectacular visuals, highlighting the collection’s theme of journey and transformation while also heightening the immersive experience. This all-encompassing approach combined visual artistry with audio stimulation to enable viewers to engage intimately with the story that was woven throughout each piece.
In looking back on her artistic career, van Herpen noted a significant transition from fashion designer to multidisciplinary artist, drawing inspiration from her recent discovery of gardening and the natural world. Her work has been enhanced by this new relationship, giving it a more profound feeling of meaning and purpose.
Iris van Herpen’s « Hybrid » display demonstrated her dedication to pushing artistic boundaries in addition to reinforcing her position as a pioneer in the haute couture industry. Van Herpen is redefining the possibilities of fashion and providing a visionary view into a future where creativity has no boundaries by skillfully fusing fashion, art, and technology.
