Iris van Herpen
Founder and creative director of the Iris van Herpen couture house
Iris van Herpen is a Dutch couturier who founded her house in 2007 and is widely recognised as a pioneer of 3D printed fashion. Her work combines handcraft with additive manufacturing and scientific research, and it is held by major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the V&A.
| Role | Founder and creative director |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Iris van Herpen |
| Born | 1984, Netherlands |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Couture in Paris | Since 2011 |
| Known for | 3D printed couture |
Who is Iris van Herpen?
Iris van Herpen, born in the Netherlands in 1984, is a fashion designer and the founder of the Amsterdam based couture house that bears her name. She is best known for bringing 3D printing and other digital fabrication methods onto the haute couture runway, and for a working method she describes as cross pollination between fashion, art, science, dance and architecture.
Career
Van Herpen graduated from ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem in 2006 after internships at Alexander McQueen in London and with textile artist Claudy Jongstra in Amsterdam. She launched her label in 2007 with the collection Chemical Crows at Amsterdam Fashion Week. In 2011 she became a guest member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture and has since presented collections twice a year during Paris Haute Couture Week.
Her recognition includes the ANDAM Grand Prix in 2014, the STARTS Prize in 2016 and the Johannes Vermeer Award in 2017. Pieces are held by institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Cooper Hewitt in New York.
Iris van Herpen and technology
In 2010 she showed the Crystallization top, created with architect Daniel Widrig and the Belgian company Materialise using selective laser sintering, which is described as the first 3D printed garment shown at a fashion week. Later work includes the 2018 Foliage dress, developed with Delft University of Technology, with petals printed directly onto tulle. She has worked with designer and researcher Neri Oxman, artist Jolan van der Wiel on magnetic techniques, and has ongoing links with research bodies such as CERN and MIT.
- Additive manufacturing combined with hand finishing
- Laser cutting, heat bonding and magnetic growth techniques
- Collaborations with scientists, engineers and architects
Influence on the fashion business
Van Herpen's work has become a reference for how digital fabrication can move from prototype to finished luxury product. Her retrospective Sculpting the Senses opened at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2023 and travelled to Brisbane, Singapore and Rotterdam before arriving at the Brooklyn Museum, where it runs from 16 May to 6 December 2026 with more than 140 couture pieces. She has also extended the house into bridal wear.
Why it matters
For an industry exploring digital product creation and new materials, Iris van Herpen offers one of the clearest long term examples of technology used in service of design rather than as a gimmick. Her career shows how research partnerships, careful craft and a small, focused couture business can shape wider thinking about the future of manufacturing in fashion.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Iris van Herpen?
Iris van Herpen is a Dutch fashion designer born in 1984 who founded her couture house in 2007. She shows haute couture in Paris and is known for combining craft with digital fabrication.
What is Iris van Herpen known for?
She is known as a pioneer of 3D printed fashion, starting with the Crystallization top in 2010 made with Materialise. Her work often draws on science and is held by museums such as the Met and the V&A.