The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will be present a major retrospective of the work of Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen. Featuring a wide selection of original haute couture pieces, Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion makes its Canadian debut at the on June 2, 2018. Transforming Fashion will showcase the evolution of van Herpen’s design with one-of-a-kind pieces from15 collections spanning 2008 to 2015. From metal umbrella ribs and magnets to 3-D printing, van Herpen works with a wide array of materials that aim to fuse style with science and inventive technologies to create striking and mystifying haute couture.
“Over the past decade, Iris van Herpen has pushed the boundaries of fashion and craftsmanship with futuristic designs that combine tradition with radical innovation,” said Josh Basseches, the ROM’s Director and CEO. “Heralded as one of the pioneering new voices in fashion, we’re delighted to bring Iris van Herpen’s work to the Museum as we continue to expand our focus on fashion with relevant and contemporary subjects that capture the imagination of our visitors.”
ROM further explains, "Gracing the runways of Amsterdam, London, and Paris, van Herpen has become the designer of choice for culture-bending style icons such as Beyoncé, Björk, Lady Gaga, and Cara Delevingne. In 2011, Time Magazine hailed van Herpen’s 3-D pieces as among the 50 best inventions, and in 2016, her work stunned crowds at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the record-setting group exhibition Manus x Machina. With designs that have earned international acclaim, her bold creations are at the forefront of experimentation and collaboration."
Van Herpen has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, engineers, scientists, and architects. Among her long-standing collaborations, van Herpen has worked with Canadian artist and architect Philip Beesley on several collections, some of which are on display in this exhibition.
“Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion is not only a fascinating and beautiful exhibition, it’s also an important presentation for visitors to see, understand, and negotiate the roles of skilled craftwork and thinking in our confusing age of technology,” said Dr. Alexandra Palmer, curator and ROM’s Nora E. Vaughan Senior Curator. “This complex and intertwined relationship of hand and machine resonates throughout the history of textiles and fashion.”
Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion will be on display from June 2, 2018 to October 8, 2018. Complementary programming will be offered throughout the run of its engagement.
When
June 2 - October 8, 2018
Where
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queens Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Canada
Tickets
Adult - $30.00
Child (4 - 14) - $19.00
Senior (65+) - $25.00
Student (with valid student card)- $24.50
Youth (15 - 19) - $24.50
Infant (0 - 3) - Free
Photo Credits
Image #1 - Biopiracy, Dress March 2014
3-D-printed thermoplastic polyurethane 92A-1 w/ silicon coating
In collaboration with Julia Koernerr and Materialise Collection of Phoenix Museum of Art, Gift of Arizona Costume Institute
Photo by Bart Oomes, No 6 Studios
Image #2 - Capriole, Ensemble, July 2011
In collaboration w/ Isaie Bloch and Materialise
3-D-printed polyamide
Groninger Museum, 2012.0209
Photo by Bart Oomes, No 6 Studios
