Iris van Herpen: the Dutch fashion designer who sculpts clothing

The Art Show

She’s an artist whose medium is fashion. Dutch designer Iris van Herpen is an innovator, remaking high fashion to be wearable art - fabric is almost plastic in her hands, moulding and shaping it so that it becomes a sculptural form. The first designer to ever 3D print a dress, her atelier in Amsterdam is more like a problem-solving incubator. She trained with Alexander McQueen, and like him there’s a sense in her designs of female empowerment, even if it accords with socially acceptable femininity.

Australian artist and curator, Irene Barberis was mentored by the great American artist Sol LeWitt and got to work in his studio long after his death. She’s also the driving force behind a project to assess his far-reaching influence in contemporary art across the globe.