Iris van Herpen's Haute Couture Brings Experimentation to Paris Fashion Week

Iris van Herpen presented her Haute Couture collection 'Between the Lines' on Monday, January 23, during Paris Haute Couture Week. The Dutch designer showcased 16 wearable objects made from hand-colored polyurethane applied on lightweight silk tulle, using injection molding and manual repainting. The pieces achieve graphic effects resembling disordered crystallization, following or concealing the body. Van Herpen drew inspiration from artist Esther Stocker. The article criticizes the current state of Haute Couture as a media exercise to support perfume and soap sales, and a vanity gesture for aging designers backed by luxury groups. It questions the target audience for such out-of-context garments, noting that Western billionaires (Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Bernard Arnault, François-Henri Pinault, Armando Ortega, Stefan Persson) and Chinese dignitaries (under Xi Jinping's anti-luxury stance) are unlikely clients, leaving only wives of emirs or African big men, who face moderation pressures from ISIS and Boko Haram. Van Herpen's work is praised as a rare beacon of genuine research in fashion.