Iris Van Herpen debuts ‘living dress’ at Paris Couture Week

Like many couture items, the dress was made less for practical reasons and more for an experiment in design.

Iris van Herpen revealed that the next steps in her design journey would be less about taking inspiration from nature, but rather collaborating with it to create unforgettable pieces.

Herpen’s relationship with the ocean can be tracked back to 2017, when one of her shows featured musicians immersed in water. Models on the runway wore gowns made from fibers from fermented plant-based materials and resin-coated silk.

Biodesigner Chris Bellamy worked in collaboration with Herpen to bring the project to life.

This involved growing the algae in tanks of seawater and transferring them into a protective membrane that would later be shaped into the material for the dress. Each of the tanks were closely monitored to ensure they had the right conditions, from light to humidity and water temperature.

Once the show was over, the algae dress was returned to its natural habitat.

Though it continued to glow throughout the duration of the show, it’s unclear whether the algae will go on to live its full life cycle in the wild.

Nevertheless, Iris van Herpen has broken the boundaries of how we think about fashion once again. By bringing nature so overtly to center stage, this reimagination of fashion frames clothing as something that lives with us, rather than something we can mindlessly consume.

This boundary-pushing move will no doubt be an inspiration for couture designers to come – and may inspire mainstream designers as they experiment with bio-fabrics and sustainable collections of the future.