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If you’ve ever wondered what haute couture might look like at the bottom of the ocean, inside a mushroom spore or on a distant alien planet, the Brooklyn Museum has an answer—and it involves bioluminescent algae, laser-cut dresses and a whole lot of 3D printing.
Opening on Sunday, May 16, “Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses” marks the North American debut of the Dutch designer’s sprawling retrospective, bringing more than 140 of her couture creations to Brooklyn along with contemporary art, scientific specimens, fossils, sound installations and immersive video works.
But honestly, calling these things “dresses” barely does them justice.
Van Herpen has spent the past two decades becoming fashion’s reigning architect of the impossible, building garments that resemble frozen waterfalls, coral reefs, jellyfish and microscopic organisms more than anything you would traditionally see in Vogue. Her work mixes old-school couture craftsmanship with technologies like 3D printing, laser cutting and experimental biomaterials, often in partnership with scientists, architects and engineers.
The exhibition itself is organized almost like a sci-fi nature documentary for fashion obsessives. Visitors move through thematic sections inspired by water, marine biology, morphogenesis, outer space and human perception.
One of the biggest conversation starters will almost certainly be the designer’s 2025 “living look,” created with biodesigner Chris Bellamy using 125 million living bioluminescent algae embedded directly into the garment. The algae emit light in response to movement and require carefully controlled humidity, temperature and light cycles to survive during the exhibition.
Elsewhere, there are dresses inspired by jellyfish, coral systems and flowing water, including the hypnotic Hydromedusa Dress and Sensory Seas Dress from Van Herpen’s 2020 collection. Some pieces worn by celebrities like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Grimes also make appearances throughout the show.
The museum isn’t just showing clothes, either. The exhibition folds in coral specimens from the American Museum of Natural History, intricate scientific illustrations, large-scale contemporary artworks and immersive soundscapes designed specifically for the show.
Basically, expect less “fashion exhibit” and more “walking through the world’s chicest experimental laboratory.”
“Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses” runs from May 16, 2026, through January 3, 2027, at the Brooklyn Museum.
