Brooklyn is about to get a full blast of sci‑fi couture. Next weekend, the Brooklyn Museum unveils the North American debut of Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses, a futuristic fashion retrospective that fuses couture, science and art into one immersive show. The exhibition opens May 16 and runs through December 6, 2026, taking over the museum’s fifth-floor galleries. More than 140 of van Herpen’s sculptural gowns, kinetic mechanisms and multimedia installations blur the line between clothing and living systems.
What the Museum Is Showing
According to the Brooklyn Museum, the presentation brings together “more than 140 extraordinary haute couture creations” alongside contemporary artworks, design objects and natural-history specimens. Thematic sections move from water and marine biology to outer space and human perception, so it is as much about how we experience the world as what we wear in it.
The museum also highlights a new soundscape by composer Salvador Breed and loans of scientific artifacts and fossils to deepen the conversation between fashion and science. The Brooklyn engagement marks the North American debut of a touring show that started in Paris and now lands squarely in the borough’s backyard.
A Living Dress, Literally
One of the show’s headline pieces is van Herpen’s 2025 “living look,” created with biodesigner Chris Bellamy and inhabited by about 125 million bioluminescent algae that glow in response to movement. As Vogue reported, the garment is kept in a climate-controlled vitrine and regularly misted so the algae can survive and emit an eerie blue light. The result feels part laboratory specimen, part couture and makes clear how central material research and cross-disciplinary collaboration are to van Herpen’s practice.
How the Show Is Staged
The exhibition unfolds almost like a sci‑fi nature documentary, with thematic sections inspired by morphogenesis, water and the physics of motion, Time Out explains. Visitors will encounter jellyfish-inspired and coral-referencing dresses such as Hydromedusa and Sensory Seas set beside artworks, immersive video and sound installations.
The lineup also includes pieces that have appeared on stage and red carpets, so you may recognize a look or two amid the experimental silhouettes and marine fantasies.
Tickets, Programming and Who Is Behind It
The Brooklyn Museum is offering timed tickets for the exhibition and will host member previews and an opening reception on May 14. The New York presentation is organized by Matthew Yokobosky and Imani Williford in partnership with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, according to the museum’s Brooklyn Museum press release. The materials also note that the show is supported by the Simons Foundation and marks van Herpen’s first major New York presentation, timed to line up with the museum’s calendar of spring events.
For Brooklyn visitors, this is set to be one of the season’s buzziest exhibitions. It is equal parts spectacle and research lab, and it is close enough to home that you do not have to go uptown to see couture at its most experimental. If you are planning a visit, book early. The combo of timed tickets and a high-profile opening often means weekend slots disappear fast.
