Iris van herpen biography of michael

For Iris van Herpen, whose radical couture dresses have attracted top musicians like Bjork, Beyonce and Lady Gaga, fashion is a way to "transform a human being".

The Dutch designer, 39, spoke to AFP Tuesday as she launched an exhibition of her work, "Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses", at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris.

The opening was attended by Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, wearing one of the designer's creations, and France's first lady, Brigitte Macron.

"Fashion can be an intellectual expression, something that goes beyond beauty," Van Herpen told AFP.

"It can be connected to all the layers of life... to architecture, to science, to biology, to nature, to everything that matters," she added.

Van Herpen has been a pioneer in fusing a broad range of technologies with couture.

She was one of the first to present 3D-printed dresses, and has borrowed ideas from microscopic photography, deep space imagery, architecture and many other fields.

"It's a very important piece for me, because it was the first real (3D) print I made in 2010," Van Herpen said, displaying a swirling,

digitally-printed white dress made from polymer and eco-leather that she designed along with architect Daniel Widrig.

"Before, I only focused on traditional crafts, but this is when I started collaborating with architects and scientists. I started not only drawing inspiration from these disciplines, but to work with them, and that really raised the level of my clothing," she added.

Among the other trippy pieces are items that look like intricately detailed skeletons, shimmering dresses based on images of the cosmos, and floaty outfits that resemble plankton blooms in the sea.

The perennial question for any haute couture designer: are these clothes really wearable?

"Oh yeah, absolutely," Van Herpen insists.

Ms. van Herpen, you once said, “I’m creating in a space that’s between reality and dreaming.” What does that mean?

When I’m designing clothing, I try to stretch the boundaries or the perception of boundaries that we give ourselves. Reality is everything and dreaming is the same: it’s where you put your own border between those two, and I think that border for me can be very different than the border for someone else. In my Fall 2016 collection, which was called Lucid, I was very dedicated to that border between those two worlds. I don’t know if you’ve experienced lucid dreaming but I think it’s very much the experience of stretching those two realities towards each other.

How does fashion come into play in that scenario? Dries Van Noten said, for example, that ready-to-wear is reality, whereas couture represents dreams.

I think it depends on the consumer. There are consumers of couture that wear it on a daily basis and it’s completely reality to them; it doesn’t have a link to dreaming at all! Some consumers have this one very special couture piece, and that is like a dream for them. It’s something you put on and you’re transformed. But I think at some point, ready-to-wear is able to do the same! It’s a special piece for a special moment, and it’s very linked to your dream, to your wishes of being somewhere else or being someone else. I think it’s something very beautiful how clothes can transform your feelings or your look or your identity.

“Every garment has its personal state of being and that’s something very powerful to play with.”

Is that idea of transformation something that informs your designs?

Absolutely. It’s a big part of my work. To me, every garment has its personal state of being, and that’s something very powerful to play with and to be in contact with. Everyone has quite a lot of different personalities. I don’t r

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