IRIS van HERPEN COUTURE spring 2013 paris

Imagine figures walking into dimly lit salon with an invitation in hand to view the Iris Van Herpen haute couture show. As a trickle of sound begins to spew though the room, a suspenseful feeling had risen in the air. Seconds later a figure enveloped in Tesla Coil was brought to life by a powerful electric voltage shock, with lightning expelling outward from the live-human statue; perhaps one of the most excitingly, electrifying moments haute couture has ever seen. The Dutch designer’s perception of fashion stands between exceptionally elaborate handiwork and innovative digital technology.

Van Herpen is able to communicate her character and emotions though her designs as she is able to emphasize every aspect of a females body though various approaches. Her confidence in fashion design comes from her ability to express herself artistically and to show the value fashion has as an art, and how it plays to ones persona as a form of individualistic expression. She treats every material she works with uniquely, to its utmost potential, always keeping an eye out for ways to emit her avant-garde artistry to the fashion world, and the delivery her 2013 Spring Haute Couture collection had in Paris was one nobody would forget. The theme: Voltage Haute Couture.

There is no doubt that energy was stirring around the room during the show, from the audience to actual electric lighting firing from the metallic figure; Van Herpen’s Couture 2013 collection has come to life. The designer had put together a series of 11 invigorating ensembles sticking to a black-and-white spectrum, with clashes of charcoal in between. All the pieces created had taken on an innovative role, related only though theme. A handful of dresses were perforated as if they had been embarked with thousands of volts, each following a distinct perforation pattern, giving the dress a uniquely distinguishable personality. The 3-dimmentional apertures followed what looked like a robotic skeletal pattern geometrically carved into the fabric. Two of the dresses were especially discernable as they were blanketed with ion-like crystals diffusing outward in an explosive manner as if they had been struck by lighting resembling the white plume-like seeds nesting on a dandelion.

A magnetic field seemed to pull the filaments of two other gowns outward flourishing like a mechanic flower, about to expose the contents in its core; one of the looks was dressed with a metallic creature that enveloped the models neck, situating itself as a collared accessory. One of the garments had been attributed with black veins that cascaded though the carefully weaved fibers while another was tightly embellished with onyx tipped white conoid appliques that covered every centimeter of the dress. The finale dress literally beamed light from its mirrored trapezic details, which had peaked outward in every direction and angle possible to allow light to be captured and reflect off of the dress throughout the entire room. Van Herpen’s magnificent collection had managed to stun every witness in its avenue: the time, creativity, artistic expression and attention to detail this collection had exhibited was what makes Haute Couture, Haute Couture. We can’t get enough of this collection, incroyable ! Iris Van Herpen spring 2013 haute couture paris fdmloves selects by Brigitte Segura, written by Julia Paulescu