Iris van Herpen: Artist talk
Conversation at Iris Studio, Amsterdam
moderated by Wojtek Piotr Onak

This recorded conversation with Iris van Herpen, filmed inside her studio in Amsterdam, offered an intimate look into one of the most visionary minds shaping contemporary fashion. Van Herpen, known globally for merging haute couture with scientific research and emerging technologies, articulated her philosophy of design as a bridge between the material, the architectural and the poetic.

The dialogue unfolded around several essential themes that define her practice:

The transformation of material
Van Herpen described how her work grows out of scientific observation, natural structures and technological innovation. Her approach blends traditional couture craftsmanship with advanced processes such as 3D printing, laser-cutting and experimental textile engineering. In her hands, materials cease to be passive matter — they become active collaborators capable of generating movement, emotion and form.

Fashion as architecture of the body
For van Herpen, clothing is not decoration but a structural extension of the human body. She spoke about garments as second skins, sculptural shells that both protect and reveal. Her silhouettes expand and contract like living organisms, reshaping the wearer’s presence and transforming fashion into a spatial language.

The intersection of design, craftsmanship and performance
Van Herpen emphasized that couture is not a product but a process — one that requires curiosity, precision and the courage to experiment. Each collection is a research project, and each runway presentation becomes a form of performance art. Her work dissolves the boundary between fashion and the performing arts, allowing ideas to be experienced through movement, sound and atmosphere.

The responsibility of contemporary creators
The conversation touched on the role of the designer in a world defined by rapid consumption and technological acceleration. Van Herpen spoke about the importance of slowing down, of treating fashion as a cultural practice rather than a market cycle. Her work proposes a future in which creativity, innovation and responsibility coexist rather than compete.

Filmed within the quiet intensity of her Amsterdam studio, the conversation revealed Iris van Herpen as both a maker and a thinker — an artist whose influence extends far beyond fashion. It was a dialogue about imagination, presence and the ongoing search for forms that allow the body to become a site of transformation.