iris van herpen and studio drift present an undulating time-lapse fashion show in paris

for her latest haute couture collection syntopia, iris van herpen collaborates with artists lonneke gordijn and ralph nauta of studio drift — whose work breathes life into their delicate, immersive sculptures through light and movement. the presentation took place on july 2nd, 2018 at le trianon in paris.

‘in 20 steps’, studio drift’s installation, accompanying van herpen’s syntopia collection, is a tribute to a speculative evolution honoring the ultimate human desire to fly. the undulating wings of delicate glass represent the constructive steps of continuous improvement. this glass bird flows together with the models while they move over the runway, their delicate interaction emphasizes the fragility of new worlds living and soaring together.

image by paul blind | courtesy iris van herpen

through the ‘inside a second’ technique, iris van herpen and studio drift map movement into a serial progression of datum, leaving the viewer with only the visual implication of movement. van herpen translates the ‘chronophotographic’ lines of bird-flight into thousands of two-toned transparent organza layers that drape like time-lapse motion. the mini ‘mimesis’ corset dresses are designed from a mapping of birds’ sound wave patterns, made of laser cut mylar, black cotton, red organza and transparent black acrylic sheets, layering the silk and acrylic like a feather’s architecture.

image by yannis vlamos| courtesy iris van herpen

iris van herpen comments: ‘as a former dancer, the transformation within movement has hypnotized me. for this collection I looked closely at the minutiae of bird flight and the intricate echoing forms within avian motion. the artists studio drift inspired me to look more closely at the draping of a garment through chronophotography. by slowing down time into split seconds I started breaking down the usual draping of fabric, to then layer the milliseconds all slightly shifted, like the layering of a bird’s feather.’

image by yannis vlamos | courtesy iris van herpen

in 20 steps, together with 15 other site specific sculptures, are now on display at studio drift’s retrospective ‘coded nature‘ at stedelijk museum in amsterdam until 26 august. studio drift is represented by pace gallery and works with future\pace, an innovative cultural partnership that commissions and delivers world-class multidisciplinary artistic projects in the urban landscape.

image by yannis vlamos | courtesy iris van herpen

image by yannis vlamos | courtesy iris van herpen

image by yannis vlamos | courtesy iris van herpen

image by yannis vlamos | courtesy iris van herpen

image by yannis vlamos | courtesy iris van herpen

image by yannis vlamos | courtesy iris van herpen

image by yannis vlamos | courtesy iris van herpen

image by paul blind | courtesy iris van herpen

image by paul blind | courtesy iris van herpen

image by paul blind | courtesy iris van herpen

image by paul blind | courtesy iris van herpen

image by paul blind | courtesy iris van herpen