Categories: Fashion

Iris van Harpen and Daphne Guinness at SHOWstudio

It’s no secret that fashion was late at adopting the Internet. The photographer Nick Knight is one of the few figures who early-on realized its potential as a platform for doing awe-inspiring things with fashion, especially the role of video. In 2001, he created what would become his virtual project lab, SHOWstudio. It is only natural that SHOWstudio’s latest undertaking, Splash!, involves Iris van Herpen, the Dutch couturier whose 3D printing techniques are equally innovative.

From April 3rd through April 9th, a live video feed from SHOWstudio will document van Herpen creating a Crystallization dress for Daphne Guinness. In lieu of a garment pattern Knight will film Guinness being doused with black and clear water. Van Herpen will then use Knight’s footage as a model for creating a one of a kind 3D printed dress. The entire process will be broadcast live. As the finale, Knight will shoot Guinness in the new dress, which will be displayed at the new SHOWcabinet space in London in June.

Below are the collaborators’ comments on the project:

Iris van Herpen:

I see my body as the architecture of my mind and strangely enough I am merely water! The water-dress symbolizes for me the incomprehensible magic of the body. I often wonder if we will keep on wearing fabrics in future, or if dressing will become something non-material, something that is visible, but not tangible or touchable. This project will be an attempt to explore this idea.

The photography of Nick Knight has been an inspiration for me since I made my first mood-board in my Fashion Academy. When I work on a collection or a dress, it can feel as though I’m in another world and Nick’s imagery affects me in the same way. I am also so excited to collaborate with Daphne Guinness. Some people dare to fantasize and Daphne lives her fantasy. More people should do so, it can be through philosophy, painting, love, dance, fashion, music – there is too much choice to not get wild.

Nick Knight:

Iris is an amazing young talent and I’m so inspired by the way she is pushing couture into new territories. We are delighted to have someone so innovative collaborating with SHOWstudio. Together with Iris and Daphne, I know we will do something incredibly exciting.

Daphne Guinness:

Nick and Iris share that rare thing: an unbridled vision. They are intuitive creators. Iris is a fine example of how artist and couturier can inhabit one body, and I am thrilled to be granted a window into her creative process through SHOWstudio.

http://showstudio.com/project/splash

Photos by Bart Oomes and Roland Didier, courtesy of SHOWstudio