Tag

transforming fashion

Browsing

transforming fashion

All too often art exhibitions will pass through this city before we get the chance to experience them. I know I’m guilty of missing out on some pretty incredible collections just because I let it slip my mind. But let me do you a favor and remind you of one you should make a priority before it vanishes! This past November, Iris Van Herpen’s Transforming Fashion opened at The High Museum in Atlanta and I was honored to be invited to a media preview and walk-through with the designer herself. The exhibition will be open until May 15th, 2016 so you’ve still got a few months to check it out (spoilers below)! Without further ado, here’s a peek at Iris’ innovative designs:

iris-van-herpen-transforming-fashion-16airis-van-herpen-transforming-fashion-7airis-van-herpen-transforming-fashion-4aTransforming Fashion marks the first museum exhibition of Van Herpen’s collections in the US. In addition, this also is the first ever exhibition at the High to feature fashion design. It’s the single form of art that I think almost any one can relate to. We interact with fashion every day in the sense that what we choose to wear is the image we choose to present to the outside world. So we find it much easier to feel a certain way about a piece of clothing than we do about a performance piece or an abstract sculpture.iris-van-herpen-transforming-fashion-14airis-van-herpen-transforming-fashion-3airis-van-herpen-transforming-fashion-9aBut of course, this is not your everyday button-down and jeans. The pieces in the exhibition come from the entire range of Van Herpen’s collections, each inspired by a different element of the world (but I guess you could say that would be anything). From materials like water and metal to chemical phenomena like magnetism and smoke, her designs are as familiar as they are foreign. I don’t envision myself actually wearing these things, much the same way I don’t envision all art I admire being the art I put in my home. They’re a statement. A meditation on the relationship we have with our world, making the invisible visible.iris-van-herpen-transforming-fashion-5airis-van-herpen-transforming-fashion-13a

This post is sponsored by The High Museum of Art; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

iris van herpen at the high museum

As much as it pains me to say this, I recognize that museums aren’t always the most exciting activity for a lot of people. Most people would much rather go see a movie, shop the mall, or walk the Beltline. And while all those things are just as enjoyable and just as stimulating, I think people all too often are missing out on the chance to experience a unique sense of awe that you can only find within the white temple of the art museum. It does require a willingness, a desire to remove oneself from all the media crap out there and focus in on a moment. A visual record of a moment of individual (or collective) inspiration to create something out of nothing.

Sometimes it can be easy to find that awe, standing in front of gargantuan Rothkos or among rows of classical carrara marble sculptures. Other times it takes explanation, reflection, and thinking outside oneself to find meaning. The High Museum’s mission is to cultivate a community where art appreciation and education can thrive so that this kind of museum-going experience becomes a shared one. Their recent programming aims to entice the broader Atlanta audience and in their upcoming exhibition, they do so through the glossy lens of fashion.

EXH_1149 VanHerpen 17 Hybrid HolismIris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion blurs the line between form and function and will be The High Museum’s first ever fashion design exhibition. Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen is known for creating sculptural couture looks which feature various media, everything from magnets to synthetic boat rigging. It’s no wonder she was the first to introduce 3D printing technology into the world of fashion! The integration of this new technique with traditional handiwork results in a collection of pieces that feel at once both out-of-this-world and of the body.

Magnetic Motion - 31 - Copyright Yannis Vlamos

Join me at the opening party for this exhibition on Friday, November 6th from 7:00pm to 10:00pm! The event is free and open to the public, complete with a dance performance from the Atlanta Ballet, music by DJ Speakerfoxxx, and most importantly… Iris van Herpen herself! The exhibition opens officially on November 7th and runs through May 15th 2016, giving you plenty of time to see these extraordinary pieces.

Capriole - 19 - Copyright Michel Zoeter

This post is sponsored by The High Museum of Art; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.