Iris van Herpen Auctions Met Gala Dresses with Bonhams: What to Know

Bonhams is auctioning off two of Iris van Herpen's most famous gowns.

The two dresses were once worn by actress Gabrielle Union and musician Grimes, both of whom were dressed by the designer for the 2021 Met Gala.

Union's look, known as the "Aeternus" gown, is composed of more than 10,000 spheres, cut and layered in size gradients from a translucent white fabric, with a fine silver reflective outline. The spheres were stitched individually for a seamless and multilevel optical illusion that creates the look of three-dimensional waves flaring out. The dress reportedly took more than 1,400 hours to complete.

Grimes’ custom look, called the "Bene Gesserit" gown, was inspired by the distant future, taking references from "Dune" and a fictional group from its universe called the Bene Gesserit force. The dress is made from silver liquid silicone with a mirror finish and was arranged in a laser-cut labyrinth, creating a three-dimensional relief on a nude bodice. For the bodice, 26 meters of dramatically draped silk falls organically to show the hand-pleated and black gradient layers. The dress took more than 900 hours to complete.

The dresses will be put up for auction as part of Bonham's two-day soiree.

The London-based fine art auctioneers company will host gatherings held on May 24 and 25 for the auction. The first event will be an auction of unique watches, while the second will include designer handbags, sneakers and jewels, with van Herpen's dresses as the highlight of the jewelry sale.

Each dress sold at the auction will include signed original sketches, as well as tickets to van Herpen's 15-year anniversary show during Paris Couture Week on July 4.

"We are so excited and honored to be working with Iris van Herpen for this charity auction of these two spectacular gowns. This is the first time that Iris van Herpen has sold items from her archive," said Meg Randell, head designer handbags and fashion department at Bonhams. Proceeds from the dresses will go to the Amazon Conservation Association and Rainforest Trust Foundation, per van Herpen's request.

Randell continued, "The dresses themselves are spectacular, worn by Grimes and Gabrielle Union to one of the fashion highlights of the year — the Met Gala. With cutting-edge technology and breathtaking design both dresses occupy an important part of fashion history, and truly are works of art that need to be seen to be believed."

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Iris van Herpen Auctions Met Gala Dresses with Bonhams: What to Know