The biomorphic and futuristic garments of Amsterdam-based fashion designer Iris van Herpen have become something instantly recognisable. Not only have her designs adorned the likes of Beyoncé, Björk and Blanchett, but for this year’s Paris Haute Couture Week, van Herpen has transformed the body itself into “aerial sculptures” – a step that grounds her innovation and creativity not only as a designer, but as an artist.
On the occasion of her major exhibition opening at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) this past weekend, van Herpen shared that she first visited Australia as a thrill-seeking 17-year-old. Here she took that leap of faith – what she recalled as a ‘reset of body and mind’ – and six years later in 2007, opened her eponymous and now hugely successful atelier in Amsterdam.
