The realms of fashion and technology often intertwine in magnificent, transcendent ways.
We were reminded of that earlier this week (July 4), when Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen revealed her new collection at the 2016 Fall Couture fashion show.
The collection featured designs inspired by cymatics, the visualisation of sound waves as complex and profound geometric patterns.
“The collection shows a variation of organic and three-dimensional structures, new materials and techniques and biomorphic volumes,” she told The New York Times. These materials included polymers five times thinner than human hair, and crystals embedded in silicone liquid.
Interestingly, van Herpen elected not to experiment with her own patterns, but instead referenced examples of cymatics she discovered on Google.
The models took to the stage to the sound of chimes resinating from a Zen sound bowl installation by Japanese musician Kazuya Nagaya, providing a traditional balance to the futuristic style which van Herpen represents.
Such innovative techniques stand in stark contrast to classic haute couture, a term that has come to signify the artistic merit of hand sewing garments.
If the old school have any problem with it, however, they would do best not to bring it up. Van Herpen has established quite the reputation as a designer since leaving her internship with Alexander McQueen to start her own label in 2007. In the years since, she has experimented with other technological themes and production methods, such as terraforming, digital escapism, multi-sensory clothes, and 3D printing.
Perhaps it was the theory that sound actually forms in bubbles, not waves, that inspired van Herpen to create these final two designs, the latter of which is comprised of thousands of tiny, handblown glass bubbles. It’s one of several designs currently on display as part of The Met’s Manus x Machina exhibition, celebrating fashion in the age of technology.
To see Iris van Herpen’s full collection, click here.