This autumn, a remarkable fashion exhibition takes center stage in the Netherlands as Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses opens at Kunsthal Rotterdam. Running from September 27th, 2025, to March 1st, 2026, the immersive retrospective celebrates one of the most innovative figures in haute couture and contemporary design. Known for blurring the lines between fashion, science, and art, Van Herpen invites visitors to experience her work as a multisensory exploration of the human form and beyond.
Iris van Herpen collections take center stage in Rotterdam
Featuring more than 100 pieces from acclaimed Iris van Herpen collections — including Crystallization, Sensory Seas, and others — the exhibition highlights the Dutch designer’s signature fusion of technology and craftsmanship. Each garment on display challenges the very definition of fashion, transforming fabric into fluid, sculptural forms that evoke water, wind, and neural networks.
A highlight of the Sculpting the Senses exhibition is the integration of Van Herpen’s couture with works by contemporary artists and designers such as Philip Beesley, Neri Oxman, and Kohei Nawa. Their contributions reinforce Van Herpen’s vision of fashion as an evolving dialogue between nature, the body, and futuristic technology.
Sculpting the Senses exhibition explores fashion as a sensory and scientific inquiry
Rather than simply showcasing garments, Sculpting the Senses is designed as a 21st-century cabinet of curiosities, divided into nine immersive zones that reflect Van Herpen’s creative themes. The journey includes a replica of her Amsterdam studio, intimate audiovisual spaces, and a curated soundscape by Salvador Breed, all aiming to activate the senses.
Among the standout pieces, the Sensory Seas collection draws inspiration from marine biology, using transparent materials and layered structures to evoke aquatic movement. In contrast, Crystallization captures the precise moment water freezes — using rigid textures and sculpted silhouettes to echo nature’s sudden transformation.
As Iris Van Herpen: Sculpting The Senses returns to the designer’s home country, this fashion exhibition becomes a landmark moment for both the artist and her global audience. In the words of curator Cloé Pitiot, the exhibition encourages us “to look beyond what is visible to see another world that is yet to come.”
Before arriving in Rotterdam, the Sculpting the Senses exhibition captivated audiences at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Take a look at how this retrospective unfolded in France in 2024 in our feature at the link.
Photography courtesy of IRIS VAN HERPEN