Overview
- The exhibition brings more than 140 haute couture works into dialogue with contemporary art, scientific artifacts, and natural history specimens such as coral, fossils, and skeletons.
- Galleries follow natural themes that start with water as the source of life and move from microscopic forms to planetary scale systems.
- Van Herpen describes a materials-first practice that fuses meticulous handcraft with digital tools, new materials, and experimental fabrication.
- Process and perception sit at the center of the show through an atelier-style installation, visitor microscopes for close study, and a soundscape composed by Salvador Breed.
- Brooklyn’s edition builds on the Paris retrospective and adds recent work like the 2025 Sympoiesis collection, which explores bio-based ideas including living algae, alongside high-tech pieces like bubble-emitting designs seen at the Met Gala.