IRIS VAN HERPEN - EARTHRISE
Iris van Herpen shows her latest collection ‘Earthrise’ during Paris Haute Couture Week on July, 5th 2021.
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With our planet positioned at the forefront of the global agenda more than ever before, ‘Earthrise’ explores the splendour of this blue body we call home by circling towards the amalgamated awareness to maintain the grandeur of the turning sphere we traverse along. In parallel to Van Herpen’s drive towards an interconnected approach to fashion, the 19 look collection narrates the circular processes that usher change in our sentient world by weaving a symbiotic thread between artisanal tailoring and organic craftsmanship, derived from the perception of our world as one living and breathing organism.
With the turn of the last century came the launch of Apollo 8, the first-ever crewed spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit and witness the Earthrise from the Moon’s horizon. Astronauts looked over our revolving sphere from afar, to see a boundless, indescribable space; a living, breathing organism, unmarred by conflict, borders as well as hierarchies and all of the entrenched partisans that make up the minutiae of our quotidian lives. Against the darkness of the inky black vastness of space, they experienced an emotional shift: a cosmic perspective of oneness.
Contemplated as a metamorphic realisation, the expedition went beyond scientific headway, remaining a pivotal moment in our evolution as sensitive sapiens. ‘Earthrise’ symbolises this shift of an anthropocentric perspective — our discernment of time has never felt so spectral. Tasked to feel, rather than to count, this novel ethos was framed as ‘Earth-gazing,' to observe the intricacies of this cosmic view and the magnificence of our surrounding mythosphere. To challenge the immensity of space that surrounds our tellurian haven, Iris van Herpen, enraptured by the seductive ancient human dream to fly out into the stratosphere of the unfamiliar, collaborates with the female world-champion skydiver Domitille Kiger. Capering through the expansive skies, from the age of 15, the designer grew fascinated by the choreographed performance of her craft, fusing two diametrical opposed worlds of artistry and science.
Through Kiger’s graceful sky-dancing, she embodies a new meaning of earthly freedom, thwarting any fear with the spirit of transcendence. Through the extreme speed and Kiger's choreography, while sky-dancing, the custom Haute Couture gown reveals the turbulence of the intricate handwork. Made from thousands of blue spheres in colour gradients, embodying our 'blue marble’ home, the gown spins off in dazzling twists in an array of directions simultaneously.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode
Domitille Kiger | Fédération Française de Parachutisme
Tsunaina & Tré Koch | GO-SEE
Masha Vasyukova & Evgueni Galperine
Olga Leventis | Uprising Productions
Alpinist Team | Guide Alpine Cortina
Thomas Bonnouvrier & Rita Bao | Art + Commerce
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Film Director: Masha Vasyukova | Art + Commerce
Director of Photography: Simon Plunket
Special Collaborating Artists: Casey Curran & Rogan Brown
Print Collaboration: Olga Shvartsur
Skydiver: Domitille Kiger
Styling: Patti Wilson
Casting: Maxime Valentini & Tobias Heinrichs
Original Soundtrack: "Oumuamua, Space Wanderings” (Remix)
Music composed & performed by: Evgueni Galperine
Supporting Vocals: Tsunaina
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Couture Atelier: Petra Schuddeboom, Julia van den Boorn, Rebecca Ward, Megan Robotham, Diogo Van der Sandt & Christian Reiche
Jewellery Collaboration: James Merry
Footwear Collaboration: SCRY Lab
Eco-Innovation Partner: Parley for the Oceans
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Models: Tsunaina, Ana Jorge, Awa Diallo, Britt van den Herik, Issa Lish, J Moon, Judy Kinuthia, Krini Hernandez, Sara Eirud, Sylvana Merién, Xiaoyi Liu
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Makeup: Giulia Cigarini, Selene Tessera the MAC PRO Team | Kelly McClain | Connie Man
Hair: Olivier Schawalder, Damien Lacoussade (Bryant Artists) | Ilham Mestour
Nail Art: Eichi Matsunaga
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Skydive Footage: Alexandre Aimard | Satori Factory
Associate Production: Maud Jézéquel
Head of Video & Onsite Production: Ivan Martinucci | Square People
Drone Footage: Monte Bianco Droni, Luigi Cinalli, Mattia Fabiano
Editing: Marie-Charlotte Moreau & Masha Vasyukova
Colour Grading: Kevin Le Dortz | DFactory
First Looks Imagery: Siermond & Nicholas Fols | Auron Lab
Skydive Backstage Photography: King Axle & Jenny Norin
Collection Lookbook Photography: Fee-Gloria Grönemeyer & Team
Collection Lookbook Videography: Jip Mus
Line Production: Paul van As & Youri Spaay
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Process Videography: Yorrick van der Gugten
Collection Essay: Scarlett Baker & Tobias Heinrichs
Illustrations Artwork: Nastya Kuzmina
“You Don’t Have to Fly to Be Able to Push Your Own Boundaries,” Says Iris van Herpen
by LAIRD BORRELLI-PERSSON/ Vogue
The sense of freedom that Iris van Herpen explores in her unforgettable Earthwise collection is of a different stripe entirely than the flag-waving kind celebrated by Americans on Independence Day. For this former dancer, freedom is always in some way associated with movement. Van Herpen has collaborated with Domitille Kiger, the French female world-champion skydiver, who is now, the designer believes, the first such athlete to wear couture during an aerial performance. Yet being the first is hardly the most remarkable part of this project. As is typical with this Dutch designer, everything—including her approach, the materials she chooses, and the meaning behind her work—is multilayered, and there’s much to unpack.
“In the beginning is my end,” wrote the poet T. S. Eliot, and in a collection focused on circles, it seems fitting to start with Kiger’s finale look, which is a feat of engineering that artfully combines handwork and tech fabric with performance and function.
Van Herpen is always questioning what couture can be, including by suggesting that 3D printing can be as unique as a hand-sewn garment. She’s formed an alliance with science, and she regularly works with people outside of the fashion industry to bring new perspectives to it. She chose Kiger, she said, because “I think she’s just a very symbolic figure to embody the female qualities that I was looking for. It’s really the freedom of adventure and the strength of being able to overcome your fears, and to really be so eager to create that you’re able to go far in pushing your own boundaries.”
Creating Kiger’s dress was a way for the designer to push her technique and vision into new dimensions, and involved a lot of trial and error, much of which was conducted in wind tunnels used for indoor skydiving. The challenge van Herpen set herself was “to merge the delicacy of the craftsmanship with the extreme durability that is needed within this jump, so really bringing two opposites into the middle.” She continued: “It was really a challenge because I must admit, when I started I had a lot of misconceptions on what would work, and what wouldn’t.” The end result, a dress in a medley of blues, is delicate and durable, and unapologetically feminine. This was important to van Herpen, who notes that Kiger works in a male-dominated field.
The collection doesn’t ignore the earthbound; there are 18 looks for those who only dream of flying. Van Hepen continued her collaboration with Parley for the Oceans this season, meaning that many of the materials she used are made of recycled plastic. The designer worked with several artists as well, including James Merry for the face jewelry, and Rogan Brown, who creates hand-cut layered sculptures that build on the manner of natural science illustration. The atelier incorporated elements of his meticulous technique into their own processes to particularly strong effect on the lace-like white dresses. Van Herpen also developed a sphere-inspired kinetic dress with Casey Curran. “This time instead of emphasizing the turbulence of our planets, this is actually more related to the butterfly effect, that every move that you make has an effect on something else... every sphere is interconnected, so when one moves all the other ones are moving in waves.”
The interconnectedness of all things is van Herpen’s constant preoccupation. This season she pulled back to take a far-sighted view from above, aided by a photo taken from Apollo 8, showing the earth as a fragile “blue marble” suspended in a vast universe. “
The perspective of us human beings being the most dominant and important part of this planet is of course an old-fashioned one by now,” she observed. “There are still people thinking that way, but we are definitely at a point in time where their perspective is shifting. Science is telling us, but I think art is also really enhancing that new perspective. And especially the young generation is feeling it more and more.”
The designer’s shift from the micro to the macro comes at a time when most of the world is also slowly transitioning out from the cocoon of home and back into a wider world that, sadly, feels divided rather than united. Her focus on interdependence and the big picture are needed now. It’s time to recalibrate.
Looking at earth from outer space,” said van Herpen, you “see a borderless place without hierarchies, and you can really see that it is one living organism, and that is actually a really old concept, which is called anima mundi. More and more, even through science, we start understanding that religious thought is actually real, everything depends on everything.”
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