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Iris van Herpen receives Cultuurfonds Fashion Scholarship

Iris van Herpen receives Cultuurfonds Fashion Scholarship

On Tuesday 24 May 2016, Iris van Herpen received the sixth Cultuurfonds Fashion Scholarship from Johan van Beem, Deputy Director of the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds. It is the highest award a fashion designer can receive in the Netherlands. During a celebratory gathering at the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht hotel, Iris was praised for her unconventional ideas and the innovative development of her work. “She dares to follow her own path at a time when we have a withdrawing government, with creations that sometimes go beyond our imagination.”

Iris van Herpen
Van Herpen studied Fashion Design at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem. During her studies, she completed internships at Alexander McQueen in London and at Claudy Jongstra in Amsterdam. After graduating, one of her first jobs was designing shoes for United Nude, and in 2007 she started her own fashion label. Van Herpen showed her collections during the Amsterdam International Fashion Week (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), the London Fashion Week (2009 and 2010) and the Paris Haute Couture Week (2011, 2012 and 2013). She has previously won prizes for her designs, including two Dutch Design Awards in 2009 and 2010 and the Mercedes-Benz Dutch Fashion Award in 2010. In 2011, her 3D dress was declared one of the best 50 inventions of the year by TIME Magazine. That very same year, Van Herpen joined the prestigious Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Van Herpen's work is very personal; she considers fashion to be a form of self-expression which allows her to translate her associations and fascinations of everyday reality into a collection. Creating a new silhouette is important in her work, with wearability not being the starting point.

Cultuurfonds Fashion Scholarship
The Cultuurfonds Fashion Scholarship, which was established in 2011 by an anonymous patron and included in the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, offers support to extraordinarily talented fashion designers who find themselves at the forefront and have established links between the national and international fashion world. This prestigious award, which consists of a challenge trophy and a monetary prize of €50,000, enables the recipient to develop both commercially and artistically.