As part of its forthcoming Luxury Week series of sales in May, Bonhams Paris is offering two exceptional gowns designed by one of fashion’s most forward-thinking designers, Iris van Herpen.
Each lot, estimated €10 000-15 000, will include the dress, the original sketches of the gown signed by Iris van Herpen and tickets for her upcoming 15 year anniversary show during the Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris, on July 4th. All proceeds are being donated to the Amazon Conservation Association and the Rainforest Trust Foundation.
The dresses, which were worn at the Met Gala 2021 by the actress Gabriele Union and musician Grimes, will be the final two lots in Bonhams Designer Handbags and Sneakers and Jewels Sale on Wednesday 25 May. The sale will be held at Bonhams, 4 rue de la Paix, Paris.
Meg Randell, Head of Bonhams Designer Handbags & Fashion department said: “We are so excited and honoured to be working with Iris Van Herpen for this charity auction of these two spectacular gowns. This is the first time that Iris Van Herpen has sold items from her archive, generously donating all the proceeds from the auction between two charities close to her heart. Bonhams is waiving buyer’s premium on these lots ensuring that every penny goes towards conserving our environment.”
“The dresses themselves are spectacular, worn by Grimes and Gabrielle Union to one of the fashion highlights of the year – the Met Gala. With cutting edge technology and breath-taking design both dresses occupy an important part of fashion history, and truly are works of art that need to be seen to be believed.”
The ‘Aeternus’ Gown, worn by Gabrielle Union, is composed of over 10,000 spheres, cut and layered in size gradients from a translucent white ‘liquid’ fabric and laser cut with a fine silver reflective outline. The innumerous spheres are then handstitched individually to create a seamless and multilevel optical illusion from which three-dimensional waves flare out weightlessly. The delicate and most intricate handwork took over 1.400 hours of making alone.
Grimes has worn a gown that was custom designed especially for her MET Gala 2021 appearance. Entitled the ‘Bene Gesserit’ Gown, the dress is inspired by a distant future as part of the new Dune movie and the Bene Gesserit cult. It is made from silver liquid silicone with a mirror finish and arranged in a laser-cut labyrinth culminating in a 3-dimensional relief on a nude illusion bodice. Each silicone piece is individually hand-casted in three layers. This process took over 300 hours.
From the intricate bodice, twenty-six metres of dramatically draped silk is floating down organically to be hand pleated and gradient-died from white to black; the process of making the ‘Bene Gesserit’ Gown took over 900 hours.
MS IRIS VAN HERPEN
Widely heralded as one of fashion’s most forward-thinking designers, Iris van Herpen is a guest member of the Parisian Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, part of the Fédération Française de la Couture, and has continuously shown her collections at the Paris Haute Couture Week since January 2011.
Van Herpen’s vision is guided by the human anatomy and its correlation to the garment itself. Contemplating movement as a metamorphic force enables these ethereal garments to extend from the human body, encountering the space surrounding it and ultimately sculpting their forms into multi-dimensional silhouettes.
Whether drawing from the intricate web of nature, the structural philosophy of living architecture or fluid anatomy of the body, the vision of Iris van Herpen encircles the female form.
For more information the Nouvelle Hype from Handbags to Sneakers sale, please visit Bonhams.
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Photo: Iris van Herpen ‘Aeternus’ Gown. © Bonhams