In a world facing depleted natural resources, Iris van Herpen’s fascinating biomimicry world looks increasingly relevant. As the movement for lab-grown materials continues to gather momentum, van Herpen this season explored synthetic biology and the intertwining relationships between the organic and the inorganic, biology and technology. The designer even had a term for it: “Syntopia.”
As a prelude, she handed the floor to like-minded Amsterdam-based artist duo Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of Studio Drift to create a kinetic sculpture. Suspended above the runway — and based on the concept of a glass bird — the installation was composed of rows of glass bars suspended by invisible wires that made them move like wings. It made for some novel runway entertainment, but the show really took flight with van Herpen’s creations based on interpretations of a feather’s architecture.
The designer used chronophotography, a technique from the Victorian era that captures movement in several frames, to guide the draping of a garment, breaking the process down to emulate the layering of a bird’s feather on sculpted dresses with undulating hems.
Other looks had an ethereal underwater feel, seen in rippling dresses with a classical allure, and luminous cape gowns in sheer silk organza, their liquid-coated pleats echoing the lines of the kinetic installation.
The Syntopia theme also played out in a series of gray coats and dresses in laser-cut wool fused with sections of intertwined digitally designed and traditional weaves, fringes of leather tassels swinging from the hems.
The designer-duo Viktor & Rolf created their entire s2018 couture-collection from the same fabric: a technical satin duchesse from Japan, a noble cloth that for the design duo spells couture.
They ticked off a run of best-of silhouettes while they were at it. The opening woven minidress recalled the hessian dress worn by Maggie Rizer in the label’s fall 1999 collection, for instance, with signature elements like cape shapes, flowers, bows, frills and ruffles adding texture to the collection.
Long silk gowns and skirts cut on the bias sported bold colored stripes or geometric motifs sewn into the fabric, recalling granny patchworks. The standouts included a double-breasted blue and red striped blazer with a royal-blue frill framing it, running from the collar down the sleeves.
The collection had an old-school couture vibe but was wearable, with the highlights including a green silk minidress with 3-D daisies.
The newness in the colorful lineup mixing conservative and clownish attitudes came not only in the innovation, with the designers managing to create new materials using the fabric, but also in its sustainable bent.
What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that Balenciaga-shirt or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Fashionweek, haute couture SS2018.
This season Iris van Herpen presented a serene, more wearable collection. Despite the labor-intensive nature of the clothes with the opening Foliage dress requiring 260 hours of 3-D printing and endless other high-tech processes — there was an immateriality to the collection.
The designer stuck to classic couture shapes. But the structures looked ultra fragile, with van Herpen focusing on silk-tulle bases covered in geometric formations of laser-cut fabrics, as well as her signature exoskeleton structures.
She used as her starting point the aerial photography of Thierry Bornier and Andy Yeung, among others, along with the organic floating paper sculptures of Dutch artist Peter Gentenaar, with a selection of them suspended from the ceiling of the show venue. The final dress resembled a living version of one of his works.
What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that Balenciaga-shirt or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Fashionweek, haute couture SS2018.
With Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2017, Viktor&Rolf presented a parade of Haute Couture Action Dolls: a surreal yet playful fashion team of stylised Viktor&Rolf mascots, rooting for a world that is creative, diverse and eco-conscious.
Their outfits consist of a bomber jacket, jeans and a t-shirt. Various doll elements, including fabric-covered faces and bodies are fragmented and mingled into an extreme patchwork statement.
Patchwork continues to explore the idea of upcycling. It also serves to symbolise a wish for harmony: to create unity through diversity.
What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that Balenciaga-shirt or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Haute Couture autumn/winter 2017.
What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that Balenciaga-shirt or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Haute Couture autumn/winter 2017.
Our own fashiondictionary Magic Block A device catwalkphotographers use at the platform in front of the catwalk to elevate a few inches. They need to be higher than the person in front of them. Most of the time it's made of superlight material, made by NASA. Nicknames: Sushiblock, Catalan Cake and Dutch Cheese