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Hosted by Lightroom in London, Vogue: Inventing the Runway is an evocative journey through the moments that have shaped and redefined fashion. The exhibition revolves around Vogue’s prestigious archives and collaborators through immersive installations, offering a front-row glimpse into the history of the fashion runway. Featured within is Iris van Herpen’s Hypnosis show.
The fashion designer is renowned for her innovative approach to clothing, all of which masterfully balance technology, fluidity, and physics. Her pieces resemble art more than anything, with garments that billow like clouds, shoot out like arrows, and unravel like butterfly wings. Hypnosis is no different.
Originally staged in 2019, the show was created in collaboration with the American kinetic sculptor Anthony Howe, whose works are wind-powered. As van Herpen’s models strutted down the runway, Howe’s sculptures bloomed behind them, the metallic vertebrae resembling flower petals in their gentle swaying.
Van Herpen’s garments were equally dynamic, the bold and entrancing patterns seeming to vibrate with each step. This effect was primarily achieved through the Japanese ink-on-water technique suminagashi, which literally translates to “floating ink.” The resulting patterns swirl and twist in a way reminiscent of marble, generating a constant sense of movement.
More than her incredible command over fabric, van Herpen’s Hypnosis demonstrated the rewarding intersections between art, sculpture, and fashion. It’s fitting, then, that the runway show be highlighted in Inventing the Runway.
Van Herpen’s curiosity and ingenuity, however, didn’t stop at Hypnosis. Model, actress, and singer Danna wore a dazzling gown during the premier of Wicked this past fall, the asymmetric silk clinging to and cascading from her body like seaweed. The Galactic Glitch dress, on the other hand, is more architectural, featuring an elegant interlinked mesh that creates a harmonica effect.
“Contemplating movement as a metamorphic force enables these ethereal creations to extend from the human body, sculpting their forms into multidimensional silhouettes,” van Herpen writes on her website.
To explore more brilliant and unexpected creations, visit Iris van Herpen’s website and follow her on Instagram.
Fashion designer Iris van Herpen creates garments that challenge where the human body begins and ends.
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Her garments cascade, billow, unfold, and surprise, always incorporating movement and fluidity at every step.
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Her Hypnosis runway show, first staged in 2019, is now being highlighted in a new exhibition in London titled Vogue: Inventing the Runway.
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Hypnosis was created in collaboration with kinetic sculptor Anthony Howe, and beautifully merged art, movement, and fashion.
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Exhibition Information:
VOGUE: Inventing the Runway
November 13, 2024 – April 26, 2025
Lightroom in London, England
12 Lewis Cubitt Square
London, N1C 4DY
Iris van Herpen: Website | Instagram | Facebook
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