Iris Van Herpen: Capriole

Iris Van Herpen can either talk to aliens or see the future. Either way, her collections are unearthly beautiful and technologically creative and inspiring. Her Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 collection is just another proof for the Dutch fashion innovator’s genius. Of course, at Paris Haute Couture she didn’t present something basic you could wear when you throw the trash or go to the bakery (unless you’re Lady Gaga, of course) – Iris has created wearable sculptures that capture human-machine symbiosis, water splashes and flexible reality. Hey, I am not a texter at Van Herpen‘s PR agency, but the guys see I am really good at expressing what most people can’t express – the admiration for high-end unwearable fashion art.  Enough talk, enjoy Capriole (which stands for a playful jump, dancing from bent knees leap; a caper).

“For me fashion is an expression of art that is very close related to me and to my body. I see it as my expression of identity combined with desire, moods and cultural setting.

In all my work I try to make clear that fashion is an artistic expression, showing and wearing art, and not just a functional and devoid of content or commercial tool. With my work I intend to show that fashion can certainly have an added value to the world,  that it is timeless and that its consumption can be less important then its beginning. Wearing clothing can create a very exciting and imperative form of self-expression. ‘Form follows function’  is not a slogan with which I concur. On the contrary, I find that forms complement and change the body and thus the emotion. Movement, so essential to and in the body, is just as important in my work. By bringing form, structure and  materials together in a new manner, I try to suggest and realize optimal tension and movement.”