Friday, March 23th was the opening of the Iris van Herpen exhibition in the Groninger Museum, Groningen. A tour was guided by the designer herself and the curator Sue-an van der Zijpp. It is the first solo exhibition for the designer who graduated in 2006, did an internship at Alexander McQueen and started her own label in 2007. In 2011 Iris van Herpen was also elected by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to be added to the Haute Couture program.
With the exhibition of the young designer Iris van Herpen, the Groninger Museum tries to find the intersection with fashion, art and design. Although the question if fashion is art is not easy to answer, neither does the Groninger Museum want to impose what they think is the answer, the multiple fashion exhibition in the Groninger Museum tries to make the viewer form an answer.
For me, after the exhibition about Azzedine Alaïa and now about the experimental work from Iris van Herpen, my answer on the question whether fashion is art or not, is getting more and more clear. The use of the quotidian object in her work, the narrative aspect of her pieces and the exploration of new materials and techniques (3D-printing included) for fashion of the future are all characteristics of a post modern artist Iris van Herpen is not afraid to use.
The exhibition is open from march 24th till september 23th.
