Now on view on the Brooklyn Museum’s fifth floor, the sensational exhibit, “Iris van Herpen: Sculpture the Senses,” showcases 140 haute couture creations. On mannequins, in a short video of a garden fashion show, and in photos and sketches, the exhibit showcases amazing fashion shapes created from seashells, fish fins, coral reefs, skeletal fish parts, tree roots, and even glass.
Beneath the ocean’s surface, there’s a tremendous unseen world invisible to the naked eye, yet essential to the earth. Van Herpen teams her design expertise with complex organisms, and deep sea subjects and inhabitants. It’s a must see for the family, and one of the most informative museum exhibits in town.
Her show opens in an oceanic atmosphere of sorts, with sound and images of water accompanying the fashion designs and sea objects on display. Herpen introduces how water plays such a vital role alongside contemporary art, design and scientific artifacts. At the entrance, a beautiful white-flared dress set against a water- and wave-like background was stunning. Room after room, van Herpen merges her expert craftsmanship with cutting-edge sustainability and technology. Her designs are mesmerizing masterpieces that will enthrall you for hours as you wander throughout the exhibit. The mushroom, an entire kingdom of life, inspired her 2021 collection of “Roots to Rebirth.”
Photos by Renee Minus White/A Time To Style
She also drew inspiration from mushrooms to replicate the delicate, thread-like networks they weave underground. In a similar concept, her cathedral dress with its branching root, root-like element celebrates the intricate flamboyance of Gothic architecture. This design also reimagines how clothing is constructed and worn.
“I am honored to present ‘Sculpturing the Senses’ at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City,” said van Herpen. “This city’s energy, creativity and openness to new ideas have long inspired me, and Brooklyn, with its vibrant community of artists and innovators, feels like the perfect place to share this exploration of transformation and possibility.” Born in 1984, Iris van Herpen grew up in a Dutch riverside village of Wamel, where she fostered her close connection with nature. Her sculptural designs have been worn by Beyoncé, Bjork, Naomi Campbell, Lady Gaga, Rosalia, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jordan Roth, and Zoë Kravitz.
With an international team, Iris van Herpen works out of her Amsterdam atelier, a former warehouse that overlooks the IJ waterfront. Her creations are characterized by their balance of experimentation. You’ll see in a large room at the exhibit how she sketches, photographs and puts it all together. There’s even a microscope for you to see the minute size of the objects used on her designs. You can also touch some of the materials. She utilizes techniques that range from silicone molding, 3D printing and magnetic sculpting to classical pleating and threaded embroidery, and also works with numerous collaborators and calls her design approach “craftolution.”
For Brooklyn Museum hours and tickets, visit brooklynmuseum.org.
