Transforming Fashion

The High Museum of Art presents a major exhibition of work by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, showing some of the world’s first examples of 3D-printed fashion.

“Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion” features one-of-a-kind haute couture – acclaimed for its combination of traditional craftsmanship and futuristic, innovative techniques – and includes some of the world’s first examples of 3D-printed fashion.

“Iris van Herpen’s work is an incredible fusion of artistic expression, craftsmanship and creativity,” said Sarah Schleuning, curator of decorative arts and design at the High Museum of Art. “The marriage of traditional, handcrafted designs and 21st-century technology makes her work innovative, dynamic and a signifier of a bold, new future for fashion design.”

The exhibition features 45 outfits carefully selected from 15 of van Herpen’s collections designed from 2008 through 2015, offering a comprehensive visual survey of her design career to date. Included are 18 pieces from the designer’s six most recent lines and a selection of her shoe designs, as well as 27 pieces from the Groninger Museum’s 2012 solo exhibition of van Herpen’s work—all displayed on custom mannequins. The accompanying wall texts explore the underlying concepts for each piece and examine how intuition and imagination are central to the designer’s process.

To provide a more in-depth look at van Herpen’s creations, a gallery in the exhibition is devoted to showcasing the designer’s innovative materials, with examples available for visitors to touch. These samples are accompanied by detailed descriptions that explain how van Herpen’s partnerships with architects, designers, scientists and 3-D printing companies inform, inspire and shape her work. Also on view is a 10-minute video featuring an interview with van Herpen and footage from her six most recent runway shows.