Bioluminescent dress from van Herpen portends era of living couture

In France, Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen has unveiled a dress embedded with 125 million bioluminescent algae at Paris Haute Couture Week 2025. T Co-created with biodesigner Christopher Bellamy of Bio Crafted, the material behind the luminous effect is Pyrocystis fusiformis, a species of microalgae known for its natural ability to emit light.

To make the dress, seawater containing the algae were suspended in a gel that kept them alive. The intensity of bioluminescence changed with the model’s movement, with the oscillating blueish light highlighting that the dress was, in fact, alive.

The piece is part of van Herpen’s Sympoiesis collection.