Iris van Herpen Brings 140 Haute Couture Pieces to New York

Iris van Herpen’s retrospective exhibition arrives in New York after stops in Paris, Brisbane, Singapore, and Rotterdam, marking its first visit to North America. From May 16 through December 6, 2026, the Brooklyn Museum will host “Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses.” More than 140 haute couture pieces are displayed across the museum’s fifth floor, the result of nearly two decades of work in which the designer has blended fashion, science, and digital fabrication.

The exhibition was originally organized by the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris in 2023 and has been on the road ever since. New York was always going to be a stop along the way.

The exhibition brings together more than 140 haute couture pieces.The exhibition brings together more than 140 haute couture pieces. (Photo credits: Iris van Herpen via Instagram.)

For those who have followed van Herpen’s work since her early days, this exhibition also offers an opportunity to put her technological legacy into perspective. In 2010, the designer presented the Crystallization top at Amsterdam Fashion Week: the first 3D-printed fashion piece showcased at a fashion week. The dress, designed in collaboration with architect Daniel Widrig and Materialise, was manufactured from white polyamide using selective laser sintering (SLS) and took six full days to print.