Dear Shaded Viewers,
Step behind the curtains of haute couture with the new Iris van Herpen process film—an immersive journey into the making of her acclaimed Fall/Winter 2025-2026 collection, unveiled at Paris Haute Couture Week just ten days ago.
This short film, directed by Jip Mus with evocative music by Sem Mus and Max Cooper, offers a rare and intimate view of van Herpen’s collaborative artistry. Viewers witness the transformation of organic inspirations—from the rhythms of the ocean to bioluminescent algae—into ethereal garments through meticulous craftsmanship and experimental technique. By illuminating each step, the film reveals how the collection, named “Sympoiesis,” comes alive as a living, breathing testament to creativity and nature’s interconnectedness.
Later,
Diane
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Months of exploration, R&D, dialogue, and delicate construction took shape inside the Iris van Herpen atelier.
This collection began not with a single sketch, but with a question: how do we embody the ocean’s fragility, its force, and its future in fabric? From that moment, the atelier transformed into a symbiotic space between craftsmanship and biodesign.
Garments were sculpted like translucent waves, layer by layer, echoing tidal motion and marine evolution. In one corner, algae glowed quietly in seawater baths, their delicate cycles monitored with reverence. In another, ultra-fine airfabric is whispering between fingers.
To see the making of Sympoiesis is to witness a collection that was not only designed, but nurtured and grown. ~
Film by Jip Mus Music by by Sem Mus & Max Cooper
