She has grown and engineered materials and imagined water in wearable form.
Fixed in place and stabilized by the protruding shoes, they moved as though conjuring the natural world.
Coco Rocha swayed interpretatively from on high, shaking her head when I asked whether she could speak.

The remaining four works, not shown here, revealed Van Herpens foray into a purely artistic practice.
The experience was transportive yet limited to being there.
Around the 45-minute mark, the models made their exit.

Lily Coles young daughter, who had been sketching the entire time, was reunited with her mother.
Suddenly the canvases were empty save for the embedded shoes.
But Van Herpens suspended tulle sculptures remained like ineffable variations on a self-portrait.


















