Fashion & Materials: Iris van Herpen’s mid-career retrospective, “Sculpting the Senses,” opens Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum, spotlighting how she moved 3D printing from engineering into wearable couture and kept expanding into new materials and collaborations with architects, scientists, and artists. Ocean Protection: The Cook Islands is pushing science-based ocean governance at the Melanesian Ocean Summit, pointing to its Marae moana marine park and a cautious approach to seabed minerals while considering new whale migration corridors with Tonga and Niue. Plastic Pressure: Kiribati warns it’s stuck downstream in the plastic lifecycle, with limited land and treatment options and plastic waste still washing ashore daily as it calls for stronger upstream action to tackle the crisis. Niue in the Mix: Niue’s presence shows up in regional fisheries leadership—Niue’s Poi Okesene is noted as outgoing chair at the Forum Fisheries Committee officials meeting in Wellington—and in culture, with the Niuean documentary “Descendants of Niue” launching weekly from 20 May on TP+. Culture & Language: Niuean R&B artist Tyrun is using Vagahau Niue in his debut EP to reconnect listeners with a language he says is at risk of fading.