An interview with the Water Dress
1. So, being that your name is the water dress, it would be logical to assume that you’ve been inspired by the water but, I want to know are there any other elements around water that have inspired your creation?
Yeah. Iris grew up next to the water and has always been fascinated by how just being there was so liberating for her. Nature has always been a big influence in Iris’s work and there are unfathomably many things to explore around it. For instance, the properties that identify with water in its different states, its calming and unbounded nature when in fluid-structure, the color, texture, movement, energy, even to the way light refracts on water. She wanted to create all these elements to form a tangible collection, it challenges her to create something as uncontrollable as water to control her design process.
I was created during a collaboration between Iris and Benthem Crouwel Architects. His design for a new extension to Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum earned its nickname, “bathtub”. To live up to the name, and to represent the museum, Iris created me to mimic a splash of water, like when someone is doused in water. I symbolize the incomprehensible magic of the human body and how water is manifested in all its states.
2. Since your debut there has been a lot of talk both within the fashion world and the outside world where people who would not have otherwise explored high fashion. How do you think going viral has impacted the fashion industry?
Ever since the collection became a huge hit, people started imitating my design and I was recreated by so many different designers who all interprets it in their own different ways. They started realizing that fashion has become a lot more extensive and that it is important to incorporate elements of art, science, philosophy, sculpture, computer technology, engineering, and architecture. The interest in wearable technology and 3D printing has increased exponentially and Iris has been labelled as the pioneer of utilizing 3D printing in fashion. Iris's pieces grabbed the attention of icons like Björk and Lady Gaga, which then popularize Iris’s designs and bring fame to her brand.
People started following Iris’s unique vision and design approach to create designs that we have never seen before while making use of 3D printers as another creative tool, a canvas for creative expression. Like Jenny Wu, an architect that launched her own 3D-printed jewelry company or Danit Peleg, a fashion design student who launched the first fashion collection 3D-printed at home.
3. Iris has been producing numerous new collections over the years, if you could be one other dress which dress would it be? And why?
It was always a dream of hers to create a fully transparent water dress using 3D printer. But at the time I was made, it was impossible because the technology was still limited. So she tried to find other ways and opted for another design. She finally finished all her hard work and it was in the magnetic moon collection that she was able to showcase it. To get there, the process wasn’t easy. It took 81 hours just for the printing and that was followed by another 8 hours of polishing and finishing work.
The outcome was a dress that almost looks like an ice sculpture. It was the first ever fully transparent 3D printed dress and I’ve always wanted that title to be mine. Iris also described this achievement as one of the happiest moments in her life. So if I could be one other dress, it would undoubtedly be the ice dress.
4. I see that there has been a project where you were evolved into a new dress. For this remake, you were worn by Daphne Guinness. How does that make you feel? Can you tell me more about the experience?
Daphne Guinness has always been famous for her love of couture and extravagant style. To be worn by someone so stunning like her was such an honor. Her warm personality made this project so much more enjoyable and it didn’t take long for all of us to bond together.
Not only is she beautiful outside, her personality also shines through. Being raised as a socialite and an heiress, it is easy to be caught up in a world of luxury and glamour. But Daphne never forgets to give back, she has set up The Isabella Blow Foundation to support aspiring art and fashion students and also facilitating further research into mental health. She also raised money for Womankind, a charity that believes in improving the life standards of women in developing countries. Overall, this was such a great opportunity for everyone to gather and make art while learning from one another.
5. You’ve obviously being constructed using techniques that are not commonly used in the average atelier. What are some of the unique or unexpected techniques that have been used to create yourself?
Knight captured the action of Guinness being splashed with black and clear water using high speed cameras and the video was a guide reference imagery for Iris to create my structure. Iris defies logic by combined archaic crafts with futuristic technologies, she heated plastic with a hot air gun and then pulled it with pliers to form an undulating transparent sheet with jagged edges, and used the result to create me.
