.MGX Hits the Paris Catwalks
Tuesday, 08 February 2011 14:51
Unveiled during haute couture week in Paris, Iris Van Herpen’s AW11 “Escapism” collection cemented her position as one of the fashion world’s most creative young designers. This was a truly mind-blowing collection, created in collaboration with .MGX and architect Daniel Widrig, with hats from Stephen Jones, and shoes from Rem Koolhaas’s “United Nude”.
Although this was Iris Van Herpen’s first show in Paris, it was not her first experience working with .MGX to combine high fashion with high technology. Rapid prototyping (also widely known as 3D printing) already played a memorable role in an earlier collection “Crystallization” which was turning heads in Amsterdam and London in 2010. As to her initial inspiration for bringing rapid prototyping into the world of high fashion and her choice of .MGX, she told Sabrina Morrison from Fashionista, “It was an idea from Kaat Debo, director of the MoMu in Antwerp. There is a lot of rapid prototyping going around, but .MGX by Materialise is really progressive in what they do. And my designs are not easy, so I needed a company that likes a challenge, and they definitely do!”
The Autumn/Winter 2011 “Escapism” collection was Iris’s way of expressing her own concept of digital escapism, where people reject reality and lose themselves in digital entertainment. As such, it combined old and forgotten techniques with the high tech possibilities offered by rapid prototyping, resulting in the creation of something unreal, yet stunningly beautiful.
The collection succeeded in dazzling the Paris crowds and has the online fashion world buzzing. As fashion critic Philippe Pourhashemi reported, “I got emotional watching her show and felt transported to a different world. Her women looked like beautiful insects or seductive creatures hailing from an unknown planet. Her clothes are pure poetry.” Fashionotes.com was left asking whether Iris Van Herpen was on her way to becoming the next Alexander McQueen, further stating that, “If you could choose three words to describe this designer, they would be architectural, luxe, and complex.”
To see the images, visit our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=286993&id=77734033275&saved#!/album.php?aid=285301&id=77734033275
For more on the show: http://dianepernet.typepad.com/diane/2011/01/iris-van-herpens-first-paris-show-text-by-philippe-pourhashemi-photos-by-marco-de-rivera.html
