Iris van Herpen

Parley collaborateD with THE AVANT-GARDE designer to create the 'Holobiont' dress – inspired by biology and made with Parley Ocean Plastic®

Iris van Herpen’s pioneering work is often described as ethereal and transcendental; radiating shapes that reference the relationship between the human body and the natural world. For her Spring/Summer 2021 collection, the Dutch fashion designer explored the rich and deeply fragile interconnectedness of an unfamiliar world: the enigmatic fungal empire and the fine, life-bearing threads of mycelium that weave together forests and fields. The collection took inspiration from the existence of this winding ‘fabric of life’ in the undergrowth, as detailed in biologist Merlin Sheldrake’s book Entangled Life. As he notes, “fungi is the ecological connective tissue, the living seam by which much of the world is stitched.”

As part of the ‘Roots of Rebirth’ collection, Parley worked with van Herpen and her team as her eco-innovation partner to curate one of the looks, ‘Holobiont’. The dress employs Parley Ocean Plastic® fabric made from upcycled marine debris collected from coastlines around the world. Printed and incised into thousands of fine trilateral tessellations, the fabric initiates a fragile symbiosis with the skin through seamless gradients in translucency.  

Speaking to Vogue about this new use of Ocean Plastic®, van Herpen explained that “[couture] clients expect the highest quality out there, so you don’t want to go sustainable if you lower the quality. We are now at a moment where the quality [between an organic silk and a recycled polyester] is completely equal. It’s really a matter of decision, it’s not a matter of choosing a quality. There’s not a lot of reason not to use sustainable materials anymore, other than changing your mindset.”

Iris van Herpen | Vogue | Elle | Dezeen

Images courtesy of Iris van Herpen
Photos by Myrthe Giesbers and Gio Staiano.