Iris Van Herpen & 3D Printed Dresses

I recently learned about Iris Van Herpen, a Dutch fashion designer who started her own label in 2007. She interned for Alexander McQueen before starting her own line, and her 3D printed dresses were one of TIME's 50 best inventions of 2011:

Escapism Dress by Iris van herpen ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London

I watched her Spring 2012 show in Paris and my jaw was on the floor the entire time. This collection is inspired by the work of Canadian architect and artist Philip Beesley, who works around the idea of Hylozoism--the ancient belief that all matter is in some sense alive.

This is my favorite dress from the show:

(photos via femour)

Its structure reminds me of gothic cathedrals (especially the details around the bust) and its color--what makes it hylozoic, I think--reminds of tree bark. So. Freakin. Cool.

Here's another one I liked from the show, it's more literal and just as impressive:

(photos via mkpress)

Van Herpen says this about her work:

"In all my work I try to make clear that fashion is an artistic expression, showing and wearing art, and not just a functional and devoid of content or commercial tool... I intend to show that fashion can certainly have an added value to the world, that it can be timeless and that its consumption can be less important then its beginning."

- Iris Van Herpen

Watch the whole show here: