magnetically grown couture by jolan van der wiel + iris van herpen

magnetic couture by jólan van der wiel + iris van herpen
image courtesy of jólan van der wiel

through a collision of physics and fashion, dutch artist jólan van der wiel has collaborated with dutch fashion designer iris van herpen for a collection of magnetically grown couture. stretching the limits of the magnetic medium, van der wiel’s study of physics and gravity allows for a physical reinterpretation, working with iron filings and molten plastic to organically grow various shapes and forms. the resulting maturation of the material, in fusion with textile and fabric, generate ‘dresses whose very forms are generated by the phenomenon of attraction and repulsion.’, van der wiel describes. the process was applied to van herpen’s ‘wilderness embodied’ collection, which premiered in july 2013 for paris haute couture week. the almost meteorological wearables appear to have been sourced from moon materials with their pearlescent, coarse exterior skin and inflated architecture. van herpen has just been awarded the golden eye prize at this year’s dutch design awards her ‘voltage collection’ of garments featuring 3d-printed technology. the dress is currently featured at klokgebouw for dutch design week 2013.

the magnetic moon dress
image courtesy of jólan van der wiel

‘the great thing about fashion, i think, that it is always combined with the human body. that will give you the possibility to give an interesting interaction to the object.’ — jólan van der wiel

a magnetically grown dress by jolan van der wiel and iris van herpen
image courtesy of jólan van der wiel

a detail of the cut-out layers of one of the magnetic dresses
image courtesy of jólan van der wiel

a detail of the fabric texture
image courtesy of iris van herpen

close up of the roughness
image courtesy of jólan van der wiel