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What We Adore : SWAROVSKI X IRIS VAN HERPEN

What We Adore : SWAROVSKI X IRIS VAN HERPEN July 4, 2017Designer, News0 Comments

WAROVSKI AND IRIS VAN HERPEN MARK HER

10^TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW CRYSTAL EDITION LAUNCH

Swarovski is proud to honor the 10th anniversary of Iris van Herpen’s atelier and the launch of her debut crystal collection, Designer Ediion by Iris van Herpen for Swarovski, at Paris Haute Couture on July 3, 2017. They were presented as part of her runway show, Aeriform, with additional pieces unveiled that evening at a reception at the Hôtel d’Évreux.

Respected internationally for the futuristic drama of her collections, Dutch conceptual couture designer Iris van Herpen stunned guests at her Fall/Winter 2017 runway show, Aeriform, at Paris’s Cirque d’Hiver at noon on July 3, followed later that evening at the Hôtel d’Évreux with her first-ever crystal collection for Swarovski.

For Fall/Winter 2017, Van Herpen produced an aquatic couture spectacle inspired by Danish underwater artists, Between Music, who performed sound sculptures on custom-built instruments while submerged in transparent water containers. It provided a haunting backdrop to the surreal couture creations that showcased Van Herpen’s signature aesthetic, which encompasses science, digital technology, art, nature, and engineering. Describing Aeriform, she said: “Air and water are the structural and visual components of the 18 elaborate silhouettes, influencing the development of both the textiles and the garment construction, which is reflected in their volume, rippling patterning, and translucent layering.”

A member of the Swarovski Collective since 2015, Van Herpen brings an unusual craftsmanship to her work, mixing old and forgotten techniques with extraordinary innovation and materials inspired by the future. Among them are crystals: her runway presentation included a dress made of tulle embellished with Couture Studs that were especially developed by Swarovski for her show.

In the evening, following the runway show, Swarovski hosted a glittering reception at the Hôtel d’Évreux, an 18^th-century architectural gem on Paris’s Place Vendôme, at which the Designer Edition by Iris van Herpen for Swarovski was unveiled. The eerily futuristic collection—her first for the crystal maison—comprises Growing Crystal, which consists of other-worldly rhomboids and rectangles of fascinating, multilayered complexity, and 3D Studs, a series of metal studs tipped with crystals at different heights, giving any 3D-studded surface an innovative, dynamic topography. Earlier, Van Herpen had featured a black clutch as part of her Aeriform show that shimmered with light refraction from the Growing Crystals that adorned it.

The event was attended by a roll call of celebrity guests and VIPs. From the world of fashion and jewelry design: Daphne Guinness, Philippe Ferrandis, On Aura Tout Vu, Saskia Diez, and Shourouk.

Model Coco Rocha wore jewelry from Atelier Swarovski and a dress by Iris van Herpen. Swarovski was represented by Taro Nordheider (Executive Vice President Swarovski) and Ute Schumacher (Director Creative Direction & Design Network Swarovski Professional).