Iris van Herpen at Brooklyn Museum - May 16-Dec 6

"The exhibition opens May 16 and runs through December 6, 2026, taking over the museum's fifth-floor galleries. More than 140 of van Herpen's sculptural gowns, kinetic mechanisms and multimedia installations blur the line between clothing and living systems."

"The presentation brings together "more than 140 extraordinary haute couture creations" alongside contemporary artworks, design objects and natural-history specimens. Thematic sections move from water and marine biology to outer space and human perception, so it is as much about how we experience the world as what we wear in it."

"One of the show's headline pieces is van Herpen's 2025 "living look," created with biodesigner Chris Bellamy and inhabited by about 125 million bioluminescent algae that glow in response to movement. The garment is kept in a climate-controlled vitrine and regularly misted so the algae can survive and emit an eerie blue light."

"The exhibition unfolds almost like a sci‑fi nature documentary, with thematic sections inspired by morphogenesis, water and the physics of motion. Visitors will encoun"

The Brooklyn Museum will host the North American debut of Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses, running May 16 through December 6, 2026 in the fifth-floor galleries. The show presents more than 140 sculptural haute couture creations alongside contemporary artworks, design objects, and natural-history specimens. Thematic groupings connect fashion to water and marine biology, outer space, and human perception, emphasizing how people experience the world. A new soundscape by composer Salvador Breed and loans of scientific artifacts and fossils deepen the relationship between fashion and science. A featured 2025 living garment uses bioluminescent algae that glow in response to movement, maintained in a climate-controlled vitrine and misted to sustain the organisms. The staging uses sci-fi documentary-like sections inspired by morphogenesis, water, and motion physics.

Read at Hoodline