Monday, November 15, 2010

Exhibition "REALITY LAB," from November 16 to December 26 @ 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT

Issey Miyake and his REALITY LAB. team are proud to announce their first project, “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE” : a modern solution by which to make clothes and industrial products based upon the mathematical principle of origami as well as clothing technology. It was shown for the first time in Tokyo on August 23 and 24, 2010. 


The 132 5 Issey Miyake collection is based on a range of clothing that unfold from two-dimensional geometric shapes into structured shirts, skirts, pants and dresses in a similar way as origami. The title explains the notion: 1 refers to a single piece of fabric, 3 to a three-dimensional shape reduced to 2-dimensions, and 5 refers to the fifth dimension, which Miyake describes as the moment the garment is worn and comes to life “through the communication among people.” Ten basic two-dimensional patterns make up the collection, the eventual garments being decided by the lines the patterns are cut along and their position.

The project is a collaboration between Miyake's lab and Japanese computer Scientist Jun Mitani, who developed software that allowed him to construct three-dimensional origami forms from a single sheet of paper. Miayke's goal was to create dresses and skirts from a single piece of cloth. Instead of cutting and sewing, the fabric would be folded with sharp, precise, permanent creases — like those of origami — based on Mitani’s computer-generated formulas.
When folded, the garments are pleasing flat round geometric shapes such as stars and swirls. When unfolded, they become multi-faceted angular tubes that can be worn as day dresses, cocktail dresses or a long skirt. Miyake wanted the garments to be as sustainable as possible, so he choose to work with  fabrics made of recycled plastic bottles.

http://www.infrabodies.com/132-5-by-issey-miyakes-reality-lab

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, as a venue to consider roles of design in the society, hold Exhibition "REALITY LAB," from November 16 to December 26. According to the exhibition director, Issey Miyake, the job of a designer consists of "a continual search for means by which to turn ideas into reality for those who can use them- in other words, a 'REALITY LAB'." Using this concept as a starting point, the exhibition's goal is to challenge, explore and celebrate the infinite "possibilities of creation."


The Japanese art of manufacturing, or of making things, is renowned worldwide for its precision. It is the fruit of an application of knowledge and experience, combined with handwork and an aesthetic consciousness. At present, however, the manufacturing industry in Japan is facing increasingly grave issues: the loss of talented workers, poor production, and shrinking resources due to the global environmental crisis. How can design provide a solution to these problems?

Issey Miyake has a long-standing history of forging relationships with and encouraging production and plants all over Japan. As a result, he has been able to work in tandem with many of these companies to experiment with new processes and technologies that have always resulted in the new and exciting products that his followers have come to expect. The exhibition will introduce the works by designers, artists, scientists, and companies who came together in the process of his research. Our goal is to provide an opportunity to reflect together upon the nature and possibilities of design that are revealed within the process of creation.  
Japanese designer Issey Miyake has long been a fashion innovator. Since handing over daily design duties at his Tokyo fashion house in 1997, Miyake has spent his time exploring new ways to make clothes more efficient, ecological and accessible while remaining stylish and modern. Today, he leads the Reality Lab, a consortium of young designers that, as he explains, “challenges, explores and celebrates the infinite possibilities of creativity.”

On September 7, Miyake unveiled the lab’s latest project — 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE — at the Galerie Kreo on the Left Bank in Paris. The title explains the notion: one piece of fabric, a three-dimensional shape reduced to two, and the fifth dimension, which Miyake describes as the moment the garment is worn and comes to life “through the communication among people.” (In physics, the fifth dimension is a hypothetical extra dimension after the three spatial ones and the fourth, which is time. Some astrophysicists argue that the fifth dimension may be the universe that we live in.)