New Video Highlights Biodesign Collaboration, Living Algae Garment, and Couture as Cultivation
Iris van Herpen has released a new short film offering a detailed look into the making of her latest haute couture collection, Sympoiesis, presented during Paris Haute Couture Week earlier this July. Directed by Jip Mus, the behind-the-scenes video documents months of research, development, and craftsmanship at the designer’s Amsterdam-based atelier—revealing layers of process and experimentation not visible on the runway.
At the center of the collection is a collaboration with biodesigner Chris Bellamy, resulting in what is described as a “first-of-its-kind living look.” The garment incorporates 125 million bioluminescent algae (Pyrocystis Lunula) which emit light in response to movement. Grown in seawater baths over several months inside a specialized nutrient gel, the algae were formed into a membrane that responds to environmental cues.
The care required to maintain this living piece, including closely controlled temperature, humidity, and circadian light cycles, parallels the conditions of the algae’s marine habitat. The studio describes the result as a symbiotic relationship: “Caring for the garment, and for the 125 million Pyrocystis Lunula it contains, requires a symbiotic relationship and redefines the creation traditions entirely, as the garment is cultivated rather than constructed.”
In addition to the living look, the film explores van Herpen’s continued pursuit of fully decomposable and refermentable materials, blending science with fashion to create garments that are both technically innovative and materially regenerative.
More than a typical making-of feature, the film situates haute couture within a wider conversation about sustainability, biology, and design systems. It underscores van Herpen’s longstanding commitment to pushing the medium beyond aesthetics and into the realm of speculative material science—an approach that may increasingly shape the future of couture itself.