CAPRIOLE

Iris van Herpen made her debut in Paris as a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture with Capriole. Besides showing a compilation of highlights from previous collections, this new collection also presented five striking outfits that evoke the feeling just before and during a free-fall parachute jump.

To reset body and mind, van Herpen once in a while takes a 'leap in the air', the meaning of the French word Capriole. This collection is a reflection of the existential extremes between body and mind experienced during a parachute jump.

Capriole was a collaboration with architect Isaïe Bloch and with 3-D print company Materialise as well as being the fourth collaboration with United Nude for the Snake Shoe made of black transparent acrylic sheets and with a slender curved heel.

The shoe designs were so intensely conceptual, that production was limited to the four catwalk pairs only. The curved heels took shape with computer aided design and were then by way of rapid prototyping printed in 3D and laminated with carbon fiber for strength. The upper material for the shoes, also used in some of Van Herpen’s dresses, was exclusively developed by Bart Hess.

ESCAPISM COUTURE