Spiber Inc. and Iris van Herpen join forces for visionary collaboration
Presented in Paris during Haute Couture A/W 2025.26
At the forefront of haute couture and biomaterial innovation, Japanese biotech company Spiber, a pioneer in the production of man-made protein fibres, and acclaimed Dutch haute couture fashion designer Iris van Herpen presented one of the brand’s two bridal looks together during Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2025.26. This partnership represents a powerful dialogue between science and art: two pioneering voices united by a shared aspiration to redefine the future of fashion. Both founded in 2007, Spiber and Iris van Herpen have followed parallel paths of radical experimentation: Spiber in biomaterial engineering, and van Herpen in avant-garde couture design.
Their collaboration signals a deep philosophical alignment in which creativity, technology, and sustainability are not separate goals but interconnected forces shaping a new material narrative. This shared belief is grounded in a common source of inspiration: nature. While van Herpen draws from the forms, rhythms, and intelligence of the natural world in her designs, Spiber engineers entirely new proteins by designing DNA based on examples found in nature, such as spider silk, cashmere fibres, silk cocoons, and more. The result is a new class of materials that are not found in the natural world yet contain the fingerprints of its underlying logic. Spiber’s Brewed ProteinTM fibre is the only man-made protein fibre to be successfully industrialised, positioning the company as a global leader in biomaterials for fashion and beyond. The material forms the foundation of the bridal look, where sheer organza is cut in different-sized moon shapes and heat-bonded to laser cut Brewed ProteinTM fabric bonings.
Hundreds of white coral petals are then stitched upwards onto a nude-effect tulle, spiralling down into a translucent twisted train. “At Spiber, we believe in the expressive power of materials, in their ability to tell stories, inspire emotion, and redefine our relationship with nature. Working with Iris van Herpen, whose designs go beyond the physical to evoke the beauty of life’s complexity, has resulted in an extraordinary manifestation of our shared values. Our Brewed ProteinTM fibre was born from the same curiosity that drives Iris’s work: a desire to explore the boundaries of what is possible when we ask questions of nature, without focusing solely on answers. This collaboration reflects a vision of fashion that is both sensorial and systemic, where fabrics are not just worn, but experienced, and where innovation arises from a deep sensitivity and curiosity towards the living world. We are honoured to be part of this moment, and hope it marks the beginning of a new paradigm in how we create, feel, and evolve with the materials around us,” says Kazuhide Sekiyama, Spiber Co-founder and Managing Director.
The artisan bridal look is more than a moment on the runway: it is a statement of possibility. Both van Herpen and Spiber believe that collaboration across disciplines is essential to addressing the complex challenges facing fashion and the environment. Their cooperation serves as an artistic and technological blueprint for future innovation. Looking to the future, Spiber and van Herpen hope that this is only the beginning. Their teams will explore new possibilities with a shared ambition to continue pushing the boundaries of material innovation and reimagining what fashion can be.