I just saw this mind blowing exhibit by Issey Miyake at the Barbican Museum and found it extremely inspirational from a textiles design standpoint. Here is a description via
Dezeen:
The project was inspired by the work of computer scientist
Jun Mitani who creates three-dimensional structures with smoothly curved surfaces by folding flat materials. The designers used a computer modelling program designed by Mitani to design the three dimensional forms of the garments, which are then modeled in paper adding cuts and fold lines until the forms can be flattened. The project was undertaken by Miyake’s Reality Lab, a research and development team formed by Miyake, textile engineer Manabu Kikuchi and pattern engineer Sachinko Yamamoto.
132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE” ― Born from a union between mathematics and clothes making .
In the autumn of 2010, ISSEY MIYAKE’s Reality Lab. will present “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE”. Reality Lab. is a research and development team lead by Issey Miyake and two staff members, Manabu Kikuchi (textile engineer) and Sachiko Yamamoto (pattern engineer) and comprised of a group of designers, some of whom are young and relatively new to the Miyake Design Studio.
The team was formed in 2007, and currently has 8 members. The Reality Lab. is a project based upon the principal of collaboration and teamwork . Their goal is, through research, to explore the future of making things from clothing to industrial products. The Reality Lab. always seeks to create products that reflect what people need and to find new ways to stimulate creative production in Japan.
