lifestyle MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015 FASHION Dutch fashion designer melds the traditional and high-tech rawing inspiration from sources including from van Herpen’s spring 2015 collection, Magnetic art, architecture, the movement of the Motion. It looks like a delicately carved ice sculp- Dhuman body and science, Iris van Herpen ture. The structures are so fine and delicate that the creates cutting-edge fashion using a combination technicians at the company that printed it for her of traditional craftsmanship and innovative tech- initially didn’t think it would be possible to create nology. And though van Herpen’s name may not be with a 3-D printer using the transparent resin she well-known to the average fashion-loving con- wanted. sumer, fashion-forward singers like Lady Gaga, The result is a stunning short strapless dress Bjork and Beyonce have all worn her creations. that hinges open along one side and snaps onto “Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion,” a new the model. Like many of the other pieces in the exhibition opening Saturday at Atlanta’s High exhibition, it’s hard to imagine how it looks on a Museum of Art, features 45 pieces pulled from 15 human body. Luckily, a video in a side gallery of the Dutch artist’s collections designed between showcases six of her runway shows so visitors can 2008 and this year. Organized chronologically, it see the outfits on models and watch the extraordi- gives visitors insight into the evolution of the nary way they move. young designer’s career. Made from materials that include woven metal Many of the couture pieces look like costumes gauze, the metal ribs of children’s umbrellas, from a futuristic science fiction movie, with dra- leather, laser-cut acrylic, foil, stones, cotton and matic flourishes created from unexpected materi- more, the dresses scream to be touched, and the als and contrasting textures. High is happy to oblige. There are samples of six The pieces are displayed on custom man- materials from outfits in the exhibition, including nequins in such a way that visitors can walk the ice dress and water dress, both of which are around and see them from every angle because made from hard, unforgiving plastic, as well as a they are as much sculpture as clothing, said High rubber material that feels like the skin of a curator of decorative arts and design Sarah Halloween mask, a fine wire mesh that is surpris- Schleuning. Van Herpen, 31, said people some- ingly flexible and a mat of fastened-together times assume she is inspired by technology, but umbrella ribs. The show debuts Saturday at the that is not the case. Rather she sees technology as High, where it ends May 15, and then will travel to a tool to help her achieve the physical representa- the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan (fall tion of ideas in her head, she said. 2016), the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas (spring “Often my inspiration doesn’t come from some- 2017), the Cincinnati Museum of Art in Ohio (fall thing visual,” she said. “Often I’m inspired by things 2017) and the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona that are invisible to us, like magnetic motion or (spring 2018). — AP electricity.” Her creative process often includes col- Dresses from the laborations with other artists, designers, architects and scientists. Once she has an idea in her head she Refinery Smoke experiments to see whether it can best be execut- collection by ed by hand or using more high-tech methods, like designer Iris van 3-D printing. Herpen are displayed The first 3-D printed piece she sent down a run- at the High Museum’s way was from a collection called Crystallization in new exhibit, “Iris van July 2010 and was inspired by the way limestone Herpen: deposits harden. The cream-colored polyamide Transforming material extends out from the torso in ridged Fashion” in loops, and thin strips of acrylic stick out from the Atlanta. — AP photos waist of a matching short leather skirt in a way that mimics water squirting out from a fountain. In the same collection is a water-inspired dress. A simple iridescent beige leather sheath with columns of ruffles and draped in metal chains is accented by a giant plastic collar that makes it look as if someone came up and threw a bucket of water on the model and that splash is frozen in time. One of the most remarkable pieces in the exhibition, which the High recently acquired, is Record auctions Haiti bring sparkle to Fashion Week 2015 market

Designer Iris van Herpen poses for a photo at the High Museum.

A model holds a 12.03- blue diamond during a press preview by auction house Sotheby’s in Geneva. — AFP 12.03-carat blue diamond could fetch a record $55 million (51 million euros) when it goes Aunder the hammer at Sotheby’s auction house in Geneva on Wednesday. The “fancy vivid blue dia- mond” Blue Moon, discovered in South Africa in January last year, is the largest cushion-shaped stone in that category to ever appear at auction. Sotheby’s put its estimated sale price between $35-$55 million which, at the higher end, would mark an all-time record for the sale of a diamond at auction. “Fancy vivid” is the highest category for coloured . On the eve of that event, Sotheby’s com- petitor Christie’s is set to auction off a cushion-shaped 16.09-carat that is tipped to fetch up to $28 million. Christie’s said only three fancy vivid pink diamonds of over 10 carats have been up for sale in 250 years. The flawless pink diamond is the largest in its class ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The sparkling oval-cut rock has received the highest possible GIA colour and clarity rating. The world record for a diamond sale at auction is currently held by a 24.78-carat pink diamond, known as the Graff Pink, which sold in Geneva in November 2010 for just over $46 million. In November 2013 a plum-sized diamond that weighed in at 59.60-carats and was known as the “Pink Star,” was auctioned by Sotheby’s in Geneva for $83 million, a world record for a gem, but the buyer, New York diamond cutter Isaac Wolf, defaulted on the payment. The current record for a blue diamond belongs to the Zoe Diamond, which in November 2014 fetched $32.6 million in New York. The stunning 9.75 carat, pear-shaped diamond was bought by a private Hong Kong collector. The price also set a new world auction record for price- per-carat for any diamond, the auctioneers Sotheby’s said. Only five white diamonds weighing more than 100 carats have been sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s. The most expensive was the 118.28-carat gem which sold by Sotheby’s for $30.6 million at a Hong Kong auction in October 2013. In May 2014, a 100.09-carat yellow diamond sold for $16.3 million at auction in Geneva, a record for a diamond of this col- or. The Graff Vivid Yellow Diamond is one of the largest yellow diamonds in the world and its color is Models present creations by Michelle Lesniak Franklin described as “daffodil yellow.” — AFP during the Haiti Fashion Week 2015 held in Port-au- Prince yesterday. — AFP photos