Iris Van Herpen Haute Couture F/W 2016.17 Paris

[Nomar]

Not wearable enough to be clothes, not beautiful enough to be art, just some stuff made with some technology. Is she the appropriate recipient of governmental support? I don't think so.

I'm not going to quote the entire thing because it's too long but that is such a narrow-minded statement to make. Obviously her clothes are not to everyone's tastes but there are definitely niche buyers out there who appreciate her innovative approach to fashion. She's not just simply using 'some technology' but creative techniques that few designers even dare to tread or think about. A pioneer of the future of fashion, what's to say she shouldn't deserve governmental support?

Art is also SUBJECTIVE and that is the wonderful thing about it, not everyone appreciates it or interprets it the same way. You might not view fashion as art but I know many others including myself do. With designers like Iris, a lot of their work is exhibited in museums and with so many designers right now doing the same thing, she's simply a breath of fresh air. She does her own thing and I have nothing but respect for her.

 

[ominao]

Sorry if my posts are hard to read or understand, I’m still not used to putting my thoughts together concisely in English.

It’s not like I don't respect her and what she does, I actually enjoy looking at her stuff sometimes. And it’s good that she always does her own stuff whatever other designers might be doing elsewhere, I appreciate that as well.
But the problem is that her work rarely evolves, she has been doing the same thing again and again. And fashion designers should, in my narrow-minded view, make beautiful clothes to dress people, not to exhibit them at some museum. They are not sculptors or painters or filmmakers, but fashion designers, then why not use these new technologies to dress people? I find it truly disappointing and frustrating that she doesn’t harness her innovative approaches to dress people, always, alway making the samey, impractical, often undesirable dresses just to show them off. You say she is a pioneer of future fashion, but I don’t think she has had much influence on the fashion world, nor do I think she ever will unless she incorporates her technologies into her garments in a way we can actually experience. Only then she will a real innovator and revolutionary. And that’s what I’d like to see her doing.

All those incredibly talented Dutch people from painters to footballers make me believe that there should be some other talented “fashion designers” in the Netherlands who need the kind of support Van Herpen and V＆R have been receiving to make beautiful, wearable garments people would like to wear everyday, combining commerciality and creativity, which Van Herpen hasn’t proven she can do. People talk about these two aspects as if they were polar opposite, but being creative doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing commercial viability, I don’t think.
I don’t intend to have a row with anyone, I’m just rambling on.

 

[Nomar]

Absolutely no offence taken, this is just civil discussion.

If you've seen her ready to wear line and the stuff that is sold, a lot of it is actually quite wearable however this all goes down to taste. Her clothes aren't for everyone, they are 'out there' and not really timeless investments. That said couture is couture and the people buying these pieces aren't the ordinary individuals you'd see on the street. I think if you buy Iris you probably would want to show it off.

I also don't think you need to influential to be a pioneer and what I meant was how Iris utilises innovative techniques like no one else. With the world's limited natural resources, I think her technological methods such as 3D printing with artificial materials will be more commonly used in the future.

In regards to fashion being art, that is just a matter of opinion. The fashion landscape is constantly changing and I don't think a designers role today would be the same 20 years ago. With so many collaborations going on, they can be many different things but I guess we can just agree to disagree.

 

[vispreevex]

As someone who once lived for IvH collections, I must say I'm bored and disappointed by her recent work. It doesn't look fresh anymore. It's like she's been making the same collection for 9 years! She has done amazing, iconic, inpirational stuff, but it seems like she has no more ideas. We've seen everything already. Yes, the details are still lovely and she still makes me think "how is that made??", but the excitement is gone. She hasn't evolved not even a bit. She's still deeply frightened of color. She was innovative back in 2007. but now she's just repeating herself. Pitty...