Designer Research: Iris Van Herpen: Roots of Rebirth SS21

'Henosis' Dress Iris Van Herpen SS21

 Iris Van Herpen's 2021 Paris Haute Couture Week collection took inspiration from the intricacy fungi and the entanglement of life beneath the ground. The 'Roots of Rebirth' collection incorporates the interconnected 'wood wide web' (an underground network of fungi and bacteria that connects trees and other plants) into the extraordinary design collection. This intricate fractal pattern is not only found beneath the ground, this pattern is also noticeable in a lot of nature's texture, human body and even in modern life. "The primordial appearance of mycelium threads, in constant communication, are microcosmic of our functioning society, from the circulatory system within us; branches of trees; rivers touring through landscapes; to the modern ingenuity of transport or the digital web of the internet" (Herpen, n.d.)

Through this 21 looks collection, Iris Van Herpen took the concept of metamorphosis in fungi to create each complex designs with its unique approach in the use of this repeated roots pattern. For the Henosis dress, off-white laser cut formed by thousand of floating fins growing outwards, where the lightweight tiny cut follow the movement like fish fins when the dress is worn. The collection majorly use lightweight translucent fabric like organza, tulle and silk dyed in gradient hues that are pleated into a complex dimension. 

Roots of Rebirth SS21 Iris Van Herpen

Iris Van Herpen is widely known for mixing technologies and contemporary design with traditional intricate craftsmanship. The 'Roots of Rebirth' SS21 collection caught my attention with the fascinating approach from inspiration it takes to create the collection. Similar to my fashion collection project, 'Roots of Rebirth' also took nature's fractal pattern as the concept. It is interesting to see that a fungi network pattern (wood wide web) could be turned into a lot more different pattern and silhouette. Observing from the 21 looks of the collection, each garment have its own unique approach to the concept, although a few share the similar pattern, fabric and design but each different look follow the main concept of the collection. 

This changes my view of creating a collection. Previously, I thought that to create a fashion collection, each design must be connected through the repetitive pattern or silhouette or color that it shares in order to make the design unified as a single collection. But researching through Iris Van Herpen runway, it expand my perspective of taking a wider exploration of the concept, not only to focus in a single specific object that we want to present in the collection. When I developed the sketches into my 4-design collection this week, I will take further exploration about other texture and silhouette I would like to include, because currently the pattern that I mostly use in the sketches are tree bark and gravel texture. I think that there are other interesting texture that I haven't explored yet like the flaky texture on mushroom or the soft and spiky surface of moss. 

References:

Herpen, I.V. (n.d.). Iris van Herpen ∞ Hypnosis ∞ runway photography. [online] Iris van Herpen. Available at: https://www.irisvanherpen.com/collections/hypnosis [Accessed 10 Feb. 2025].

vmagazine (2021). Iris Van Herpen Stuns With SS21 Collection ‘Roots of Rebirth’. [online] V Magazine. Available at: https://vmagazine.com/article/iris-van-herpen-stuns-with-ss21-collection-roots-of-rebirth/ [Accessed 11 Feb. 2025].