Category — Fashion

This simple valet called “Spring Day” crated for Busso by Kensaku Oshiro, an Okinawan transplant now living in Milan. Kensaku has taken part in several exhibitions including Salone Satellite in Milan, Tokyo Designers Week, New Design Generation in China and has won prestigious awards: Elle Décor France – Young Talent of the Year (2006), Red Dot Design Award (2008), IF Design Award (2009).  See more of his work at: www.kensakuoshiro.com.

Visit Busso’s site to see the rest of their furniture collection, all  ”clean, straightforward design whose excellent finishing enjoys high regard.” You can also purchase pieces on their E-store (US only) at: shopbussolari.mybigcommerce.com

images courtesy of Yasushi Jona | click to enlarge

Didn’t you hear? Ancient is the new vintage.

That’s the idea behind these poetic pieces of jewelry by designer Yasushi Jona. The line of jewelry, which is simply titled Jona, was carefully crafted to give the impression that they were something recovered from the shipwreck of a Spanish galleon. I hate using the term wabi-sabi, because it feels so clichéd and dwelling on it leads too easily to predictable and overly-simplistic interpretations of Japanese culture. But these pieces are a nice representation of the concept.

Yasushi Jona first got his start in jewelry as a designer for Pola Chemical Industries’ design laboratory. After teaching jewelry design for several years he emerged as a freelance designer in 2005. His pieces are available at, among other stores, the Osaka-based select shop Toi.

via colossal

The latest product to come out of industrial designer Chiaki Murata’s design label Metaphys is this maisonette tote bag. The bag is divided into 3 compartments that vary in size for some specific modern-day necessities. It’s an elegant solution that makes the standard tote bag oh-so-much-more attractive.

It comes in 4 different colors and retails for 9800 yen. You can buy it from White Rabbit Express.

Related:

• ojue bento box from metaphys
• node by chiaki murata

click images to enlarge

I’m really happy to be able to share the work of NOM&ADA, a new collaboration between Tokyo-based designer Rie Sawai and Portland-based designer Kimberly Andrade, the former being an old friend from grade school days.

[Read more →]

click images to enlarge

After working with Tokujin Yoshioka on their ever-evolving window display, Hermes Japan has taken on a new look. Their latest display, situated on the ground level of their Renzo Piano-designed building – on the ritzy Harumi-dori of Ginza – features somewhat out-of-place hanging chains, industrial electric wires and other accessories one might expect to find in a utilitarian workshop, not a high-end fashion boutique. The work is that of Paramodel, the artist duo comprised of Yasuhiko Hayashi and Yusuke Nakano.

[Read more →]

Lead stylists at Japanese men’s fashion magazine MEN’S NONNO have collaborated with multi-brand retail chain BEAMS to design 4 t-shirts based on the popular manga One Piece. This isn’t the first time that One Piece and MEN’S NONNO have collaborated. If you’ll recall, Luffy, the protagonist of the popular manga series, graced the cover of the magazine’s January 2010 issue.

The “Baratie” (above) is probably my favorite. It’s like a souvenir one would purchase if one visited the fictional floating restaurant frequented by rowdy pirates.

Each t-shirt retails for 5,040 yen in their online store but they’re selling out fast.

click images to enlarge | Photos © Yoshinaga Yasuaki

Issey Miyake is no stranger to technology. He has made a name for himself both in Japan and across the globe for his monochromatic shapes that fuse high-tech engineering processes with ancient forms of kimono structure and hand-loomed fabrics.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that his latest store, which opened on November 26th in the Minami Aoyama district of Tokyo – solely dedicated to his new “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE” line of clothing  – is a total embodiment and amalgamation of everything he has attempted to achieve up until now.

Co-developed by Reality Lab, a team of computer scientists and engineers led by Manabu Kikuchi (textile engineer) and Sachiko Yamamoto (Pattern Engineer), the new line of clothing shares many of the same principles that a children’s pop-up book have. Beginning with two-dimensional shapes, a series of incisions and folds allow the flat pattern to expand into  3-dimensional garments. (see below – click to enlarge)

Photos © Hiroshi Iwasaki

They were inspired by the work of computer scientist Jun Mitani, namely his Spherical Origami series.

The store itself, which was designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, features transparent mannequin torsos suspended from the ceiling. Each mannequin is adorned with one of the garments and accompanied by a flattened version of the garment AND an interactive iPad, which visually communicates the process in which the flattened shape emerges as a 3-dimensional objects of fashion. Yoshioka describes his design as an attempt to escape from superficial interiors and engage in a process of  designing a new way of selling items.

A related exhibition, “Reality Lab,” is currently on display at 21_21 Design Sight through 12/26.

Related:

• Issey Miyake packaging boxes by Shun Kawakami
• Bottle Baguette by Issey Miyake
• Phenomenon by Tokujin Yoshioka
• Tokujin Yoshioka’s Waterfall
  

screenshots | click images to enlarge

Visual design studio WOW recently created the backdrop for Mihara Yasuhiro’s spring/summer 2011 collection, which was shown during Paris Fashion Week in the basement of the Louvre.

Unfortunately they are not letting me imbed the video (ugh) but here are some screenshots.

The collection was all about the conflicting themes of nature and society, which was then beautifully depicted on screen with silhouettes of runway models suddenly dispersing into a flock of birds, or forests that sprout up, only to be blown away be a gust of wind. Watch the video here. Oh, and the clothes are also nice.

What do you get when you pair a jewelry designer with a bonsai designer? Well, you quite obviously get bonsai jewelry. And when that pair happen to be cometman (jewelry) and kokeya (bonsai), you get really awesome jewelry.

The moss ring was created exclusively for online retailer Lade Store and costs 6,800 yen. And good news! They ship overseas (this is actually one of my first encounters with Japanese stores that cater to overseas customers).

Much emphasis was placed on the selection of materials. The ring was carved from a single piece of bubinga wood, hailing from the tropical regions of Africa and commonly found in, among other things, harps, archery bows and Lexus luxury vehicles. The plant is actually a special type of moss known as Leucobryum something or other. It is known for its resilience to dryness and for its deep color, which is why it is often found in the lush Japanese gardens of Kyoto.

via SPGRA

Japanese fashion designer Tsumori Chisato, known for her girly, fantastical style, has signed on to create a disturbingly cute line of clothing for nautical-inspired French brand Petit Bateau (I usually call it Petit-bourgeois – petit referring to the physical size of the wearer, rather than their social class).

The launch party for the new line recently took place at Petit Bateau’s Daikanyama store in Tokyo.

As expected, the pieces are way out of our price range (who pays $200 for a onesie, bib and stuffed animal?) but we will keep our eyes peeled for them at the annual sample sale held in nyc.

via fashion-press

(thanks Masako-chan!)