When the objects we use every day and the surroundings we live in have become in themselves a work of art, then we shall be able to say that we have achieved a balanced life. Bruno Munari, Design as Art (1971)
The Japanese craft of origami reimagines a single sheet of paper in countless ways as a plethora of different shapes. It exploits the primordial, uniquely human ability to imagine one thing as something else. If even a bird can see a twig being repurposed as a component of a nest, surely we can visualize it as a piece of furniture, fuel for fire, decoration and, of course, paper. But in a world that constantly churns out the new, what does it mean to be imaginative?
Over the past 45 years, Issey Miyake has become synonymous with innovation. Some inventions, we’re familiar with: revolutionary pleating techniques gave birth to Pleats Please, a line that supposedly compliments every body type. Their A-POC line similarly holds the philosophy that a single piece of cloth can be fully utilized and sensitive to the body, and decrease wastage as a result. Even their campaigns were one of the first to encourage race equality in fashion. In a nutshell, the design house is fueled by razor-sharp vision.
Thus it is only appropriate to select this star-shaped tote as this month’s object – a symbol of mankind’s quest to reinvent. Inspired by the work of computer engineer Jun Mitani, the developers of Issey Miyake’s Reality Lab designed special computer software for the creation of 132.5 Issey Miyake. The numbers are significant: one item, a three-dimensional form that is derived from two-dimensional shapes, which, the brand declares, propels the design into the fifth dimension when it is carried.
Without a doubt, Issey Miyake has plotted a thought-provoking map of shapes. The celestial 132.5 might not solve life’s existentialist conundrums, but it sure is a testament to how technology can lead to new, exciting possibilities.
This article was originally published in L’Officiel.
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