Watch: Iris van Herpen's colorful haute couture collection

‘Harmonica Macrocosmica’, a star atlas by the German-Dutch cartographer Andres Cellerius, served as inspiration for the new haute couture collection by Iris van Herpen. The Dutch designer presented the ‘Shift Souls’ collection in Paris yesterday.

Van Herpen was inspired by early versions of celestial cartography and mythological and astrological imagination, according to the press release. Iris van Herpen's special designs are often one of the highlights of Paris Fashion Week. “For ‘Shift Souls’ I looked at the evolution of the human form, its idealization through time and the hybrid forms of female forms in mythology,” said Iris van Herpen in the press release. “The imagination and fluidity of identity change in Japanese mythology gave me the inspiration to further explore the meaning of identity and how immaterial and changeable it can become in combination with our digital bodies.” The fluidity can be seen in the designs in the mobility of the items but also in the suggestion of movement through the use of color and patterns.

In addition to mythology and astrology, the Dutch designer also drew inspiration from the work of Kim Keever, a former NASA engineer who now combines painting and photography. Van Herpen has worked with him to create layered 'cloud' dresses from his most distinctive work, according to the press release.

View a selection of the 18 looks from the show below.

Image: Courtesy of Iris van Herpen

Translated by AI