In 2010, Iris van Herpen , then only three years after establishing her eponymous couture brand, sent the first 3D-printed garment down the runway as part of her “Crystallization” collection. A top evoking the skeletal structure of a snake with its ivory-colored coils of 3D-printed polyamide, the piece was a collaboration with British architect Daniel Widrig. “It was a big moment,” says van Herpen, 41, as she contemplates the look on a form in the Brooklyn Museum galleries. “And it was definitely a starting point for me to collaborate with architects on new techniques.” At the time, 3D printing was mostly the purview of architecture and engineers. Van Herpen was the first designer to utilize the technology for a wearable garment. More than 15 years later, she has continued to push the boundaries of material and technique, collaborating with architects, sculptors, chemists, multidisciplinary artists, bioengineers and astrophysicists.…