Skip to content
subscribe
Account
SEARCH

Categories

LASTEST

Tokujin Yoshioka Designs a Journey Through Past and Future

Katy Donoghue

9 September 2019

We’ve come to look forward to new additions to Louis Vuitton’s “Objets Nomades” collection. The ever-expanding series of wanderlust-filled furniture is inspired by the French house’s roots in the art of travel. Last spring during Salone del Mobile, the maison unveiled a new object by ongoing collaborator, designer Tokujin Yoshioka. His Blossom Vase complements his previous Blossom Stool. Playing with light and transformation, the new piece in glass is meant to provide a journey through time. Whitewall spoke with the designer about the inspiration of experience.

WHITEWALL: How did you arrive at the Louis Vuitton monogram as your inspiration for your “Objets Nomades” collaborations?

Tokujin Yoshioka
©Louis Vuitton Malletier – Yasuhito Sasaguchi.

TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA: On designing my “Objets Nomades” collaborations, I aimed to create a sculpture-like piece that symbolizes a trip through history and the coming future. Blossom Stool and Blossom Vase are the reinterpretations of Louis Vuitton’s classic monogram, the timeless motif of the brand.

WW: Can you tell us about how that first translated into the shape of the Blossom Stool?

Tokujin Yoshioka for Objets Nomades
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.

TY: The design of Blossom Stool represents the motion and structure of blooming petals—a transformation from a bud to a flower.

WW: What was the starting point for the more recent Blossom Vase?

Tokujin Yoshioka’s Blossom Vase in Noir
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.

TY: I have long been working on designs with glass to illustrate the phenomena of natural light. Wishing to create “an art piece of light,” I took inspiration from Louis Vuitton’s monogram, using light as a material.

WW: Can you tell us about your choice in material and color for the vase?

Tokujin Yoshioka for Louis Vuitton
© Tommaso Sartori.

TY: What are the things that make people sense light? Having this question in my mind, I came to introduce glass in either clear or black.

WW: “Objets Nomades” celebrates the art of travel. How does the vase relate to this idea?

Courtesy of Tokujin Yoshioka.

TY: Blossom Vase isn’t merely a flower vase, but a sculpture of light that symbolizes a trip through time.

WW: What role does travel play in your life and practice?

TY: To imagine and create an object is like a journey. Travel is an experience where you sense the world of impressions and emotions created by inspirations.

WW: Nature plays a major role in your practice. How does it continue to be a source of inspiration?

TY: Nature has a profound effect on human senses and feelings, and it touches us in every way, so it is universal and timeless form that can transcend history. Nature continues to be a source of inspiration to me.

WW: You’ve said that it’s important for you to establish a connection and conversation with nature in your designs. Why?

TY: I personally believe that there is nothing greater than nature. This is because every form in nature has a meaning, and it also symbolizes life.

WW: What connection is there for you between travel and nature?

TY: Though it may be overlapped, creation of an object is like a journey, and it’s always nature that inspires me at the starting point of this travel.

SAME AS TODAY

FURTHER READING

The View at The Palm Opens in Dubai with Human-Centric Purpose

Whitewall spoke with John Bricker of Gensler about The View at The Palm in Dubai.

Louis Fratino Finds Power in Images of What We Love

Louis Fratino spoke with Whitewall about keeping the studio a space free from fear of failure.

The BMW Neue Klasse Looks to an All-Electric Future

The BMW Neue Klasse is a statement piece for a new era: design language that references classic BMW for its soon-to-be all-electric lineup.

Watch Live: Louis Vuitton Men’s Pre-Fall 2024 Show in Hong Kong

This Thursday, November 30th at 7:00pm HKT, watch the Louis Vuitton Men’s Pre-Fall 2024 Show live from Hong Kong.

Ewa Juszkiewicz Fuses Art and Fashion to Explore Female Identity

In the Winter 2024 Issue, Whitewall spoke with the Polish artist on collaborating with Louis Vuitton on its latest Artycapucines collection.

Pharrell Williams Fills First Collection for Louis Vuitton with Joy

Whitewall takes you to the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2024 men's fashion show in Paris, Pharrell Williams's first show for the brand.

SUBSCRIBE TO MAGAZINE

Kelly Wearstler

THE WINTER EXPERIENCE ISSUE
2023

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Go inside the worlds of Art, Fashion, Design and Lifestyle.

READ THIS NEXT

This Thursday, November 30th at 7:00pm HKT, watch the Louis Vuitton Men’s Pre-Fall 2024 Show live from Hong Kong.
In the Winter 2024 Issue, Whitewall spoke with the Polish artist on collaborating with Louis Vuitton on its latest Artycapucines collection.
Whitewall takes you to the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2024 men's fashion show in Paris, Pharrell Williams's first show for the brand.

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Go inside the worlds
of Art, Fashion, Design,
and Lifestyle.