Iris van Herpen's Hypnosis Collection at Paris Haute Couture Week

Iris van Herpen presented her Autumn/Winter 2019-2020 collection, titled Hypnosis, at Paris Haute Couture Week, which ran from July 1 to July 4, 2019. The collection featured 19 pieces, some inspired by suminagashi, the ancient Japanese art of ink on water, where van Herpen used heat-sealed silk lines on transparent tulle. Other pieces utilized laser-cut duchesse satin with plotter-cut machines. Van Herpen collaborated with kinetic artist Anthony Howe, whose wind-activated metal sculptures were created using computer-aided design and plasma cutting. Howe's spherical sculpture Omniverse, placed at the center of the runway, symbolized humanity's relationship with nature through cycles of expansion and contraction. The collection also included a kinetic dress called Infinity, made of aluminum, stainless steel, and bearings covered with layered feathers that rotate around the wearer. Van Herpen described the collection as a hypnotic visualization of nature's symbiotic cycles, reflecting the fragility of interconnected worlds. This was her 19th appearance at Paris Haute Couture Week since her debut in 2011.