Must-see highlights of ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’

This landmark exhibition at the ArtScience Museum invites visitors into the mind of Iris van Herpen, one of fashion’s most visionary designers

Iris van Herpen’s work has always pushed the boundaries of orthodox fashion. The Dutch fashion designer is a pioneer who transforms materials and translates techniques into wearable sculptures that defy expectations. Now, Iris Van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses arrives at the ArtScience Museum in collaboration with Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, offering an unparalleled exploration of her visionary world in her first solo exhibition in Asia.

Van Herpen’s innovative design approach combines traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technologies such as 3D printing, laser cutting, and bio-fabrication. Her designs—worn by cultural icons like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Björk—are studies of movement, structure, and transformation, often inspired by fields as diverse as marine biology, physics, and architecture.

Above The landmark retrospective will run from March 15 to August 10, 2025

The landmark retrospective will run from March 15 to August 10, 2025

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This landmark exhibition is an immersive experience that brings together over 140 van Herpen couture pieces displayed alongside contemporary artworks, scientific specimens, and artefacts that have influenced her work, reflecting the complexity and fluidity of the natural world.

Visitors will journey through 11 distinct zones, each revealing a different facet of her creative process. From the fluidity of water to the vastness of space, Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses showcases the breadth of her imagination and the depth of her technical mastery. The exploration is set to a custom soundscape by Dutch composer and music producer Salvador Breed for a truly immersive experience that engages all the senses.

Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses is showing at the ArtScience Museum from March 15 to August 10, 2025. Here are six exhibition highlights to look out for.

Above Iris van Herpen at the media preview of ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’

Iris van Herpen at the media preview of ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’

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1. Sensory Sea Life

Above Sensory Sea Life zone

Sensory Sea Life zone

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The deep sea and its ecosystems have long informed van Herpen’s vision. The Sensory Sea Life zone draws from van Herpen’s Sensory Seas 2020 collection and includes the Hydrozoa dress, famously worn by Lady Gaga. The dresses are displayed in dialogue with marine specimens like corals and sea urchins on loan from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, as well as suspended sculptures and glass artwork depicting Amphitrite, the Greek goddess of the sea.

2. Skeletal Embodiment

Above Skeletal Embodiment zone

Skeletal Embodiment zone

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Skeletal Embodiment, a key section of the exhibition, dissects how van Herpen explores the human form in ways that exceed conventional tailoring. She analyses the skeleton, muscles, connective tissues and systems of the body to create couture to be worn as a second skin. Highlights include the Skeleton dress, influenced by Japanese artist Heishiro Ishino, and the Crystallization ensemble, one of her most famous 3D printed projects.

Above A Dimetrodon fossil is displayed in this zone

A Dimetrodon fossil is displayed in this zone

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A 270-million-year-old Dimetrodon fossil, exclusive to this exhibition, and a bleached coral reef installed alongside the designs reinforce the dialogue between structure and evolution.

3. Forces Behind the Forms

Above Forces Behind the Forms zone

Forces Behind the Forms zone

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This section looks at the unseen forces that shape life at every scale. Forces Behind the Forms focuses on morphogenesis—the biological process behind growth and structure—and reflects van Herpen’s fascination for natural shapes in her designs.

Above Iris van Herpen in front of her sculpture, ‘Unfolding Time’ (2024)

Iris van Herpen in front of her sculpture, ‘Unfolding Time’ (2024)

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Also on display is Unfolding Time (2024), a new sculpture by van Herpen making its Asian premiere in this gallery.

4. Alchemic Atelier

Above Alchemic Atelier zone

Alchemic Atelier zone

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An intimate reproduction of van Herpen’s workshop in Amsterdam, Alchemic Atelier offers a behind-the-scenes view of her creative process—described as “craftolution”, a fusion of traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology. On show are samples of embroideries, plissé foldings, silicone moulds and a wide selection of materials used for 3D printing and other digital methods. Each material marks the beginning of an idea. Observant visitors will spot the origins of certain silhouettes in these experiments

5. Mythology of Fear

Above The Snake dress in the Mythology of Fear zone

The Snake dress in the Mythology of Fear zone

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Themes of alchemy, mythology, and hybrid forms come to the forefront in Mythology of Fear. The striking Bird Dress, worn by Scarlett Johansson, exemplifies her interest in creatures that exist between worlds, merging the surreal with the physical. The Snake dress, displayed alongside a sculpture of Perseus holding Medusa’s head, draws connections between mythology, transformation, and van Herpen’s exploration of symbolism

6. Cosmic Bloom

Above Symbiotic asymmetric dress in the Cosmic Bloom zone

Symbiotic asymmetric dress in the Cosmic Bloom zone

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The final zone of van Herpen’s cerebral universe, Cosmic Bloom is a spectacular showcase of gravity-defying dresses that evoke concepts of expansion and motion. Throughout her career, van Herpen has been inspired by the cosmos and its mysteries, drawing on its vastness and discoveries for her creations. Photographs from her Magnetic Motion collection, shot at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research’s Large Hadron Collider, reinforce her fascination with the unseen forces that govern the universe.