Iris van Herpen’s Living Algae look is the first of its kind. Created in collaboration with biodesigner Chris Bellamy, this dress is made up of 125 million bioluminescent algae, which are alive within the structure and emit light in response to the wearer’s movement.
Cultivated over several months in seawater baths, the Pyrocystis lunula algae were molded into a specialized nutrient gel held within a protective membrane. To keep the algae alive, Van Herpen’s atelier and the Brooklyn Museum carefully maintain this living system with controlled humidity, temperature, and light cycles, emulating the algae’s natural marine environment and circadian rhythm.
Caring for the dress requires a symbiotic relationship that reinvents creation traditions entirely.
More sea than seam, this is one of the many revelatory dresses that celebrate our connection to the natural world now on view in Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses.
Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses is organized by Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. The Brooklyn Museum presentation is organized by Matthew Yokobosky, Senior Curator of Fashion and Material Culture, with Imani Williford, Curatorial Assistant, Photography, Fashion, and Material Culture.
Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses is co-chaired by Sylvana and Adam Durrett, Jordan Roth, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, and Amanda and John Waldron.
This work is supported by the Simons Foundation and is part of its “Infinite Sums” initiative.
Leadership support is provided by Deedee and Barrie Wigmore.
Major support is provided by Lauren Amos.
Significant support is provided by Nancy P. Magoon and John H. and Regina K. Scully.
From the top: Iris van Herpen. Living Algae Look, from the Sympoiesis collection, 2025. Pyrocystis lunula algae, nutrient gel, H20, silicone, silk organza, and tulle. Collaborator: Chris Bellamy. Model: Stella Maxwell. (Photo: Molly SJ Lowe); Iris van Herpen. Living Algae Look, from the Sympoiesis collection, 2025. Pyrocystis lunula algae, nutrient gel, H20, silicone, silk organza, and tulle. Collaborator: Chris Bellamy. Model: Stella Maxwell. (Photo: Molly SJ Lowe); Iris van Herpen. Living Algae Look, from the Sympoiesis collection, 2025. Pyrocystis lunula algae, nutrient gel, H20, silicone, silk organza, and tulle. Collaborator: Chris Bellamy. Model: Stella Maxwell. (Photo: Molly SJ Lowe); Installation view of Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses, Brooklyn Museum, 2026. (Photo: On White Wall / Paula Abreu Pita)
