Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Never short of pushing the envelope in design and creative collaborations, Kartell is bringing out a new stylistic approach of "invisible furniture" to the 2010 Salone del Mobile. An innovative approach ten years ago, transparency is back at the forefront of design as we further seek to connect to nature and our lives seem to be more transparent than ever due to technology. As we further extend our lives from physical experiences to digital ones, the couture collection, "The Invisibles" forces us to feel our physical experiences  by making us aware of our bodies.

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

"The Invisibles" is a collection of furniture pieces designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, a Japanese designer with an array of collaborations for issey miyake, bmw, nissan and many others. His 'Invisibles' collection shares the lightness by being fully transparent. With a play of physical space and the notion of our bodies floating in mid air, the collection combines some of our fantasies in physical forms. The pieces are unique with the stylistic preciousness of solid, squared off, maxi forms with thicknesses never before seen in design pieces made of polycarbonate. Although transparent, the pieces provide a sense of weight that gives us comfort and confidence in utilizing them. They are strong and structurally sound, quite a dichotomy considering its see through properties.

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

From Tokujin Yoshioka // “In the last few years I have been thinking about a design that would include natural phenomena and invisible elements such as senses, wind and light. The ‘Invisibles’, a special collection launched from Kartell, only leaves the sense as if seating in the air. The presence of the object is eradicated and it will create a scenery of a sitter floating in the air. It is as if the physical presence of the object has been uprooted and gives life to a ‘floating’ scenario. Even the installation itself gives visitors that extraordinary sensation of entering an unreal world”.

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

At the Kartell Gallery, their flagship in Milan, the "Snowflake" storefront wraps with 50,000 prism cylinder rods juxtaposed to fragment the view to the interior. This poetic installation provides a unique experience that changes from day to night. From the street, you see glimpses of color as if you were trying to look through a cloud just to realize that there are pockets of full transparency which display the pieces. The collection sets a serene tone that could only be achieved through trust and a strong collaboration between Kartell and the designer.

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Image Courtesy of Kartell

Kartell Gallery // The Invisibles by Tokujin Yoshioka

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