Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses in Brisbane review

24 August 2025, by Dolla Merrillees

In this week’s blog post, Costume Society member Dolla Merrillees reviews the Iris van Herpen exhibition on its global tour having viewed it in Paris and Brisbane.

Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses, originally developed by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (29 November 2023 – 28 April 2024), is currently captivating audiences as part of a major international tour. Following its presentation at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane (29 June – 7 October 2024), the exhibition travelled to the ArtScience Museum in Singapore (15 March – 10 August 2025) and will open next at the Kunsthal Rotterdam (27 September 2025 – 1 March 2026). 

Curated by Cloé Pitiot and assistant curator Louise Curtis, with scenography by Studio Nathalie Crinière, this landmark exhibition celebrates the oeuvre of this polymathic and innovative Dutch designer, whose work, as Christine Macel, Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, writes in the accompanying catalogue, "sits at the intersection of haute couture, science, architecture, and design, and, as such, questions not just fashion and clothing but also a world in full transformation." One might also add structural engineering to this list, given van Herpen’s meticulous approach to craftsmanship and her use of cutting edge technologies to articulate the intricate frameworks — the ‘bones and joints’ — that define the form and structure of her garments.

Installation view of ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’ including (front l-r) Symbiotic asymmetric dress, from the ‘Shift Souls’ collection 2019 by Iris van Herpen; Fractal Flows dress, from the ‘Sensory Seas’ collection 2020 by Iris van Herpen with collaborator Perry Hall; and Cosmica gown, from the ‘Shift Souls’ collection 2019 by Iris van Herpen with collaborator Kim Keever / © Iris van Herpen / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA

Installation view of ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’ including (front l-r) Symbiotic asymmetric dress, from the ‘Shift Souls’ collection 2019 by Iris van Herpen; Fractal Flows dress, from the ‘Sensory Seas’ collection 2020 by Iris van Herpen with collaborator Perry Hall; and Cosmica gown, from the ‘Shift Souls’ collection 2019 by Iris van Herpen with collaborator Kim Keever / © Iris van Herpen / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA

While tailored to each host venue, the exhibition retains its immersive scenography and core themes, unfolding like an exploration of a biological ‘big bang.’  Visitors are guided through eleven thematic sections comprising Sensory Sea Life, Water and Dreams, Forces Behind the Forms, Skeletal Embodiment, Growth Systems, Synesthesia, Alchemic Atelier, Cabinet of Curiosities, The Mythology of Fear, New Nature, and Cosmic Bloom. 

Audiences have come to expect immersive and dazzling sets by exhibition scenographer Nathalie Crinière — renowned for her work on the exhibition Christian Dior: Couturier du Rêve (2017) — and she does not disappoint.  In collaboration with van Herpen, and sound choreographer, Salvador Breed, each section has been transformed into a conceptual and unexpectedly intimate reflection of van Herpen’s visual language and idiosyncratic artistic process. For instance, the customised mannequins in various skin tones are far from merely being functional, static three-dimensional coat hangers; they play a crucial role in emphasising the silhouette and sculptural nature of the garments, almost as if they had been frozen in time. In parallel, Breed’s ambient soundscape, which he describes as van Herpen’s “sonic identity”, draws on the garments’ forms and materials, creating an aural counterpart to their intricate physical presence.

The exhibitions brings together over 130 garments and accessories in dialogue with contemporary artworks, historical artefacts, and specimens from the natural sciences, vividly illustrating the motivations, influences and processes shaping her creations. These inspirations range from art, science, and dance to nature, architecture, and music. Some works were created especially for the exhibition, others were sourced from her archives, such as the diaphanous and kinetic Epicycle dress from the ‘Hypnosis’ collection (2019), or were lent by private and public collections, including the Gothic inspired Cathedral dress (2012) realised in collaboration with IsaÏe Bloch and Materialise, Belgium, from the Groninger Museum collection.

Each host venue has also had the opportunity to include locally relevant works that complement and resonate with van Herpen’s practice, creating a meaningful dialogue with both her core creative concerns and the exhibition’s central themes. In Brisbane, for example, this included a carefully curated selection of loans from the Queensland Museum, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), and various state libraries, creating a distinctive local dialogue with the core exhibition. These additions deepened audience engagement by illuminating resonances between van Herpen’s designs and the region’s artistic, scientific, and natural history collections.

As Nina Miall, Curator, International Art QAGOMA, explains: “Iris was clear from the outset that she wasn’t interested in a static exhibition that simply toured different countries and remained the same at each venue.  […] She intended the exhibition to unfold in dynamic, site-specific ways over time — grow[ing] out of care, collaboration and dialogue, that is sensitive to both its environment and context and so sympathetic to its local audience. In this respect, it is closely aligned with the ethos of Iris’s own artistic thinking.”  

This sensitivity to site is also amplified by the architectural qualities of each venue. In Paris, tighter sightlines and lower ceilings fostered a more intimate atmosphere, encouraging close and personal engagement with the garments. In Brisbane, soaring ceilings and generous spacing created a more expansive feel, allowing the works to be read within a broader spatial and architectural frame, a shift that, intentional or not, reflects van Herpen’s belief in shaping each presentation in dialogue with its context.

One of the most compelling aspects of the exhibition, present in each iteration, is its evocative contemporary reimagining of the cabinet of curiosities, or Kunstkammer, as it was known in Renaissance Europe. In van Herpen’s interpretation, the Kunstkammer becomes a space of porous boundaries, where fashion enters into direct dialogue with science, art, and the natural world. Her footwear, headpieces, belts, garments, and face jewellery, many conceived in partnership with artists, biologists, technologists, architects, and designers, are interwoven with objects that have shaped her practice: historical books, early photographs, artworks, artefacts, and natural history specimens. Highlights include Philip Beesley’s Noogenesis sculpture (2023) and Rinaldy Yunardi’s Sempiternity earpieces (2023). For the Brisbane presentation, works drawn from the collections of QAGOMA included John and William Cary’s New Celestial Globe (1816) and Eadweard Muybridge’s Cockatoo in Flight (1887), along with delicate insects and corals from the Queensland Museum.

Installation view of the Cabinet of Curiosities in ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane / © Iris van Herpen / Photograph: J Ruckli © QAGOMA

Installation view of the Cabinet of Curiosities in ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane / © Iris van Herpen / Photograph: J Ruckli © QAGOMA

Van Herpen’s interest in the natural world, along with her study of classical and contemporary dance, are two foundational pillars that have significantly shaped her fashion ethos and informed her understanding of the human body and its movement. This multidisciplinary approach has made her a trailblazer in the industry, culminating in her historic use of 3D printing in the breakthrough Crystallization collection (2010), produced in collaboration with Benthem Crouwel Architects. It has also fostered rich collaborations, and while most accompanying works effectively complement her fantastical silhouettes, some — such as the hyperreal ocean waves by Japanese art collective Mé, intended to converse with the Hydrozoa dress (Sensory Seas, 2020) — felt somewhat disconnected. In both the Paris and Brisbane versions, spatial separation and physical barriers diminished its impact and weakened its connection to the exhibition as a whole.

Haute couture is rooted in craftsmanship, and the representation of van Herpen’s atelier towards the conclusion of the exhibition, highlights her materials and techniques. From 3-D printing and laser cutting to meticulous hand stitching, these methods allow her to engineer a new design language: “We combine the organic and the synthetic to blur the line between nature, craftsmanship and technology […] craftsmanship has always been about innovation, which is something we forget”, van Herpen says in the catalogue interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist.

While van Herpen herself remains somewhat elusive in this meticulously curated exhibition, what is clear is her need to push boundaries, to experiment and to embrace risk. As she states in the accompanying exhibition catalogue : “We will have multiple identities in our near future, and I wanted to create garments that blur our assumptions about what it means to be embodied and what it means to be human”. 

To explore more exhibitions covering iconic designers, revisit our past blog post on the Alaïa/Kuramata: Lightness in Creation exhibition, held earlier this year.

Dolla Merrillees is an experienced director, curator, writer, and cultural producer. Merrillees is the Director, Western Sydney Creative-Western Sydney University, and was the former Director of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney.

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