Iris Van Herpen And Evian Create A Recycled Water Bottle Haute Couture Dress In Time For The Fashion Awards

Since 2007, Iris van Herpen has created an array of one-of-a-kind gowns and dresses, known to the world as haute couture. Constructed by hand with some of the finest, natural, and organic materials, van Herpen has cataloged what is arguably a high-end, sustainable fashion Maison. One founding fact about the Iris van Herpen Maison is that the designer has only ever made one-of-one pieces, refusing to release a complete collection or capsule. This ethos has always been a part of fashion. Spawning ideas that build circular concepts among creatives in other industries, the demand for clothing has increased. Global fashion consumption has doubled in the past two decades.

The innovative ‘Mimesis’ dress from Evian recycled plastic bottle by Iris van Herpen debuts on the Evian Global Brand Ambassador, Maria Sharapova, at The Fashion Awards on November 29, 2021. This will bring functionality to a concept not too far from our reality. “There is a whole revolution going in terms of material innovation and sustainability. It’s really exciting to see the possibilities – the amount of new possibilities that are opening up, in that sense, is really exciting,” van Herpen says.

Iris van Herpen produces garments through processes like 3D printing, laser cutting, digital fabrication, and electromagnetic weaving. While pioneering production techniques using typical luxury materials, van Herpen has also experimented with glass, silicone, rubber, metal lace, iron filings, blended steel, resin, and even magnets. The Maison of Iris van Herpen elevates their innovation through meticulous research and development. 

Evian took notice of van Herpen’s execution, and in 2020 they challenged the Maison to craft a gown with recycled plastic Evian water bottles. Evian approached van Herpen online about the project, during the height of the pandemic. They sought additional solutions to keep plastic bottles out of the ocean and Iris van Herpen has often found inspiration in water, translated in her designs.

“Water has been a big part of my work. Where I live in the Netherlands, water is all around me and we are below sea level. Water is a big part of my world and inspiration. I learned a lot about the sustainability goals of Evian and felt very drawn to them because of the goals of my own label. It really felt like we could join our worlds in a very natural way,” says van Herpen of her brand and personal ethos.

Evian’s push for innovation and advancement for recycling water bottles – ultimately, ocean plastics – is part of its continued commitment and progress toward circularity within the plastic production chain. Evian’s goals include carbon neutral recertification, a launch of 100% recycled ‘bottles made from bottles’, not including caps or labels. The certified B Corp is also launching Evian (re)new, the natural mineral water company’s first in-home water dispenser. Evian is on pace to achieving its circularity commitment by 2025, which includes having all of its plastic bottles being made from 100% recycled materials. 

With this in mind, Netherlands-based van Herpen worked remotely with an Italian-based team for weaving the fabric, meticulously rendering to get the right texture and resilience of the material. She says, “I dived into the concept of water, not only as a material but really, the behavior of water. I feel really inspired by the way water moves. But, also the way it works with light and the reflections.” With a dance background, van Herpen often merges the motion of water with the craft. “I connect dance and water in my mind, very seamlessly. Water is really a source of infinite movement and transformation. There was so much there in that very simple principle – water – that inspired me to start drawing the dress.” 

Fashion has participated in the chain of ocean plastic recycling in many forms. Solutions also come from other industries, and it has been fashionable to speak up about climate change and sustainability. Ocean plastics are being converted to usable material, but the oceans are still at greater risk.

As a member of the Fédération de la Haute Couture, Iris van Herpen works in a world that specializes in creating fashion for occasion. What van Herpen has created with the recycled Evian water bottles starts with the plastic. Through cleaning and decomposition of the bottles, the remaining recycled plastic material – 72% – is partly blended with organic silk – 28% – forging a unique one-of-a-kind material that Iris van Herpen has meticulously brought to life after the year-long design process.

She explains of the novel fabric, “I wanted to enhance that transformation, the aspects of the waves, repetition as well, and also, the reflection and the dynamics within the light. All elements I tried to capture in my design. The material development started with wanting to reach a couture quality – which was really exciting. It was really my goal in this collaboration to go beyond anything imaginable that could be designed from a plastic bottle. I think we achieved that. The fabric is really couture in quality, [and] the nylon threads are made from Evian bottles.”

What van Herpen created is what she calls “Liquid Fabric”. This is the upcycled plastic and silk blend material that shares the reflective qualities of water, and the resilient flutter initiated by movement, like petals in the wind. With the mix of laser-cut details in the structural blue gradient design, the organic movement of the 2000 hand-stitched petals, and the soft sheen of the Italian-woven fabric, van Herpen sought an “organic presence with a true couture spirit,” she describes.

For van Herpen, quality is essential in the innovation and craftsmanship of the dress. She is galvanized in her adoration for water and its attributes of infinite movement, taking notes from the waves and how they reflect light. Repetition, transformation, and transparency are unexpected elements that the “Liquid Fabric” mimics and are found in the construction of the dress. Organic movement has always been a motif of the Iris van Herpen Maison, mainly taking a cue from van Herpen’s youth as a classically trained ballet dancer. The pedals of the dress respond to the movement of the wearer, fluttering with every shift of the body. Reflecting light on its surface, the liquid sheen of the fabric is transparent, especially when in contact with the skin. Visibly, the refined fabric of the dress creates a feminine silhouette that is delicate and lightweight.

Maria Sharapova gets to adorn such a pivotal piece of fashion, one that was painstakingly crafted from waste. This burdens the idea of couture as a sustainable solution – designers can agree – and the challenges of producing “Liquid Fabric” on a larger scale. Iris van Herpen remarks that “sustainability of fashion is really in two ways; in one hand, in how much you make, indeed in how you make it – is sort of a bit different than ready to wear couture. And in the second, of course, is the material itself. Other sustainable materials, whether recycled, or organic – it’s a big job for fashion, as a whole, to become circular, and to become more sustainable. The will has been there. I feel there is a lot of change in people’s consciousness, and the effort that is being made [toward] change.”

See video of the ‘Mimesis’ dress made from ‘Liquid Fabric.’