The Dutch diva of leather manipulation continues to impress with an absolutely stunning parade of shimmering leather lace body halos and sweeping dresses. First appearing 3 seasons ago with fine wire cages made of umbrella spokes, Van Herpen’s successive collections have seen her finesse leather into an altogether stunnning feat of material manipulation.
Iris Van Herpen illustrated by Katie Harnett
This season’s helios-orange shimmer-backed leather laces were twisted to reveal and conceal as they wrapped around arching shoulders, floor length dresses and even massive platforms. A performer herself, most of these dresses are stage ready and we can easily guess which songstress in particluar will be bouncing about in one of these in her next video.
Fear not though most pieces in this collection were extremely wearable for ladies… and the occasional gentleman as she demonstrated by sending a young man down the runway in one of her more basic boxy frocks. And in those platforms, without a single misstep, we girls now have no excuse!
Iris Van Herpen A/W10 photo courtesy of: Sabrina Morrison
One minidress with bustier detailing is elegantly adorned with pinches and twists of laser cut leather strips, finishing in a halter neck. A gorgeous example of her handicraft paired with what appeared to be etched leather.
Iris Van Herpen A/W10 photo courtesy of: Sabrina Morrison
A long pigeon grey dress shifted a harness of elegantly draped leather laces from knee to knee the model strutted down the catwalk turning to reveal a sheer black back. Appearing in her usual palette of ecru, black and copper there was also the occasional accent of purple to offset the glowing metallics.
Iris Van Herpen A/W10 photo courtesy of: Sabrina Morrison
A graduate of Artez Academy in Holland, Van Herpen has drawn past imagery from ancient Egyptians, smoke and birds. This season it was radiation waves. Her frequent allusions to corsetry both in structure and surface detail are still fully present. What is fantastic to see is that as her ambitious pieces develop so is her flattering sense of the human form. Materials no longer dictate and demand but now seem to be taking cues from their handler.
Tags:
artez, designer, dutch, fashion, Iris Van Herpen, lace, leather, London Fashion Week, textiles
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