Designer: Iris Van Herpen

Collection: Aeriform AW 2017.

 

These garments seen above belong to Iris Van Herpen’s collection for 2017 called Aeriform. The innovative artist explores in these garments the fluidity of both water and air and the contrast within them incorporating surprising materials and textiles.

 

 

In the image above we observe quite an interesting event happening. It is a band member of Between Music playing with a submerged instrument during their underwater concert called Aquasonic. These musicians and their work “transcend and transform the conventional and natural relationship between our bodies and the elements”(Iris Van Herpen website, Aeriform Collection). In other words, they challenge the body and the instruments to a completely different medium.

For years they have explored the different sound possibilities and have been able to produce custom-made instruments developed specifically to be played underwater. It is not only striking and surprising to hear the sounds they are able to make, but also the actual elements that are needed to produce these.

For instance, at the bottom of the vertical image, we can see this transparent instrument full of cables, tubes and pipes as well as small holes that the musician uses to create these sounds. We can see clearly that the person is inside this water tank and is surrounded completely by glass. There is also a strong spotlight that lights up the scene and falls upon her back and shoulders. In fact, thanks to this lighting we are able to distinguish different colours such as red, green and orange. Even though it is a still picture, movement comes across thanks to the slight diagonal angle with which the image was taken. This dynamism, however, comes across as well with the moving surface of the water and her floating-like hair.

Although this doesn’t look like a reference, the Dutch designer actually thought about their “hypnotic biophonic sound” (Iris Van Herpen Website, Aeriform Collection) when creating her designs and it is afterwards that she invited them to perform in her fashion show while the delicate garments made their way into the catwalk.

 

Bibliography:

Nicole Phelps. 2017. Iris van Herpen Fall 2017 Couture Collection – Vogue. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2017-couture/iris-van-herpen. [Accessed 03 November 2017].

Iris van Herpen. 2017. Aeriform | Couture | Iris van Herpen. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.irisvanherpen.com/haute-couture/aeriform. [Accessed 03 November 2017].

3D Printing Blog | i.materialise. 2017. The New Craftsmanship: Iris van Herpen and her Inspiration | 3D Printing Blog | i.materialise. [ONLINE] Available at: https://i.materialise.com/blog/the-new-craftsmanship-iris-van-herpen-and-her-inspiration/. [Accessed 03 November 2017].

YouTube. 2017. Dutch Profiles: Iris van Herpen – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vZktNvLCaI. [Accessed 04 November 2017].

Dezeen. 2017. Iris van Herpen explores contrasts between water and air with Aeriform. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/05/iris-van-herpen-explores-contrasts-between-water-air-aeriform-couture-collection-design-fashion/. [Accessed 09 November 2017].

The New Yorker. 2017. Iris van Herpen’s Hi-Tech Couture | The New Yorker. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/25/iris-van-herpens-hi-tech-couture. [Accessed 04 November 2017].

YouTube. 2017. In Fashion: Iris Van Herpen interview – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjp8uxXEZHI. [Accessed 04 November 2017].

YouTube. 2017. Iris Van Herpen – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sdeiVYHsm8. [Accessed 04 November 2017].

YouTube. 2017. Iris van Herpen Interview Video – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcaPhkSWkMc. [Accessed 04 November 2017].

Naomi Shavin. 2017. Iris Van Herpen Is Revolutionizing the Look and Tech of Fashion | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/iris-van-herpen-revolutionizing-look-and-tech-fashion-180958969/. [Accessed 04 November 2017].