Turning a dream into a Compasso d’Oro, the story of Vibram Furoshiki

Turning a dream into a Compasso d’Oro, the story of Vibram Furoshiki

Tommaso Berra · 1 year ago · Design

The Compasso d’Oro is perhaps the highest international award for industrial design projects, Vibram has managed to win it with its Furoshiki, turning a dream into one of the most relevant projects in the history of technological innovation and design.
Collater.al met Masaya Hashimoto, the designer who participated in the development of the project from its origins, listening to a story that tells a lot about design and its cultural and social role; starting from the traditions of Japan to create a wrapping sole, an innovative concept that can lead to a new behaviour, a new way of understanding shoes.

How did the Vibram Furoshiki project come about?
In 2011 I was working in the design studio of Isao Hosoe, who at that time was collaborating with Vibram on an innovative concept around the future of the sole, one of the ideas was to reduce the amount of moulds for each sole. Usually there are 10 to 12 moulds for each model, and one of the company’s goals was to optimise production time and costs, thus creating a new product that was more sustainable in many ways. Together with Vibram’s R&D team, we therefore began to think about how to integrate multiple numbers in a single mould, a complex research because the upper usually does not fit different numbers. The prototype that turned out to be successful was made with liquid rubber, a transparent sheet and some fabric, from the intuition of wrapping the foot in a sole coupled with fabric. As soon as we put it on, we knew immediately that it worked. 

Masaya | Collater.al

What was it like working on the most technical details of the design, managing to create a beautiful and durable shoe while still pursuing an essential approach to the elements? Is there anything in particular that inspired the design of Vibram Furoshiki?
I work with the Italian methodology of Gio Ponti or Alberto Rosselli, but my master is Isao Hosoe, the culture of furoshiki is connected to the Japanese one. The shape originates from an object-carrying cloth, which historically serves to contain a gift one brings to someone. Furoshiki is a way to protect and reveal a product with surprise. Each furoshiki is related to the content and the season, they are customised according to the occasion or clothing, a concept similar to the one that makes us choose shoes according to our mood, everyone wears the ones that represent them best.

Vibram Furoshiki has transformed a historically anonymous object, which had to give importance to the content, into an inverse mechanism, with the container becoming the object and the content (the foot) not being revealed, so it is anonymous and, what’s more, it adapts to every conformity and type of foot. Vibram’s role was fundamental from the point of view of technological innovation and for the development of the product from a concept to a sole that envelops the foot; the choice of fabrics was also important, some models for example are made together with a company that produces swimwear, the elasticity of their fabric helped us.

Inventing a product for the first time is tiring but fun, you have to think of everything, from the production method through to analysis and sales. It wasn’t difficult because we were working with trained Vibram technicians. Design is a game, you have to combine technology and culture, if design is not fun it becomes boring, you feel the pain. Design is about creating a new behaviour, leading to a new behaviour. Vibram Furoshiki are this, no longer an object that has to be worn but an object that has to be wrapped, already the gesture is different.

Masaya | Collater.al

“I have learnt that in the West we try to reason with our heads, but the most important and rewarding decision-making is done with our bellies. The modern world reasons with its head, but the body has a longer historical experience, and the experience it has accumulated comes from deeper needs, related to fear and emotionality. It is important to lower the level of emotion and emotionality so as not to create problems.
In design and creativity the greatest source of energy is emotion, if you deny emotion the design becomes flat. So you have to regulate yourself and channel emotion intelligently to the end consumer. The risk is to do something crazy. Excessive creativity is fine for physicists like Einstein, but he needed it to get away from logic”

The figure of the stylist has been replaced in recent years by the concept of the designer, what do you think about this change in the way of defining who creates a collection, can it lose the sense of design, of the technical study of materials and forms?
In history there are designers who could have won the Compasso D’Oro, such as Giorgio Armani or Coco Chanel, because they created with innovation. Chanel created the idea of a modern woman entering the working society, Armani brought the quality of tailoring into the industrial world. There are fashion products that could win great design awards, but now the fashion world has flattened out a bit, because designing also involves a lot of risk.
Today the market is saturated, before you looked at the world of design in relation to the innovations it proposed, now you look at the philosophy of the brand and its concepts, things on which you don’t have too much entrepreneurial risk but which help you to withstand the wave of products you are called upon to produce. Design has changed from an entrepreneurial point of view and this has also changed the approach to production, it is not easy to come up with innovations.

Masaya | Collater.al

When you look at Vibram Furoshiki do you feel more fashion design or product design?
Of product, because the product is precisely ‘product’, that is, something created and sold. If I am a cook, I am a product designer, I cook and sell, but first of all I think of it according to the needs of my guests. The designer must accommodate requests and pamper customers in some way, with the tools I have at my disposal. 

Did you expect the success of the Vibram Furoshiki when it was designed? Did the 2018 Compasso D’Oro help open up the model to the general public?
Every project I do I try to bring it to the same level, then for me the judgement of the outside world is important, to understand what people think to know if that idea can have potential. I can’t understand it before.
With Furoshiki we also won two important awards, DFA Design For Asia from the Hong Kong Design Center and the DIA Design Intelligence Award. In the latter Vibram was invited as a European project, which was a very hard award to get. These two awards were important because it is the first time that a European shoe approaches all the diversity of feet, the Asian foot shape is different from the Western one and shoes do not fit well. I am sure the shoe and sole culture will change in the coming years.

Turning a dream into a Compasso d’Oro, the story of Vibram Furoshiki
Design
Turning a dream into a Compasso d’Oro, the story of Vibram Furoshiki
Turning a dream into a Compasso d’Oro, the story of Vibram Furoshiki
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Wasted Youth by Federico Hurth

Wasted Youth by Federico Hurth

Giorgia Massari · 2 months ago · Photography

In an era characterized by the uncontrollable proliferation of digital images, selfies, and the widespread use of filters that distort the perception of the contemporary world, photographer Federico Hurth captures an authentic portrait of youth, but one that is burnt out. His project, titled Wasted Youth, is a true reportage, or as Federico himself describes it, «a personal photographic diary in which I collect snapshots of carefree moments.» His strictly analog shots depict faces, bodies, and situations, always following «a damned, fashionable, artistic, musical aesthetic.» In Federico Hurth’s shots, the melancholy and inner rebellion of a generation emerge. Some of the shots from the project, which Federico has been working on since 2021, will be exhibited at the Doppia V Gallery in Lugano from October 20th to November 17th, in an exhibition curated by Francesca Bernasconi.

Federico Hurth’s photographs are devoid of any post-production manipulation, «if a photo has a flaw, I keep it that way. Precisely to maximize the authenticity of the moment,» the photographer tells us. Wasted Youth offers a glimpse into fragments of youthful lives lived intensely but, at the same time, in a way that may seem “wasted,” in line with the title of his project. The aesthetic, which oscillates between the glitter of glamour and the darkness of decay, reflects the complexity and uncertainty that the contemporary context offers to young people, who are at the mercy of looming precariousness.

In conclusion, quoting the words of curator Francesca Bernasconi, «Federico Hurth’s photographs are characterized by an intriguing immediacy and an instinctive and decisive formal exploration, strongly linked to the revolutionary aesthetics that emerged in the 1990s through the work of a generation of photographers, often, like Hurth, straddling the worlds of fashion and alternative artistic scenes.»

Courtesy Federico Hurth

Wasted Youth by Federico Hurth
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Daniel Obasi’s Vision of Africa in Lavazza’s New Calendar

Daniel Obasi’s Vision of Africa in Lavazza’s New Calendar

Anna Frattini · 2 months ago · Photography

We attended the unveiling of Lavazza’s new calendar, a project that takes us into an uncharted Africa, brimming with energy, experimentation, and a forward-looking spirit influenced by its culture and the diverse communities that inhabit it. Three photographers collaborated on this year’s calendar: Thandiwe Muriu from Kenya, Aart Verrips from South Africa, and the latest addition, Daniel Obasi, whom we had the privilege to interview. The theme of Africa as the birthplace of coffee remains strong, linked to the Giuseppe and Pericle Lavazza Onlus Foundation, founded in 2004 and now involved in thirty-three projects across three continents. With Nigerian roots and a holistic approach to photography, Daniel Obasi is a creative talent who seamlessly blends fashion styling, cinema, photography, and art direction to create captivating and distinctly African narratives. Here’s our interview with him.

How did you first get into photography?
I started photography because of my background in design, and for a while, I also dabbled in fashion styling. That’s when I got into photography. Additionally, I had an eye for certain subjects, and the practice of photography attracted me in a unique way. Working with other people was often challenging for me, so I decided to learn how to take photos on my own to share my exact vision with the world. For me, it’s more about a concept and an idea, which is at the core of my holistic approach to creativity.

How do you manage to blend art direction, fashion photography, and your work as a director?
By approaching each practice in a holistic way and considering them as one, it’s easier to navigate. I don’t think of them as separate components but rather focus on the end goal.

How do you apply Afrocentrism to fashion photography? Can it be seen as the primary vehicle for promoting messages of inclusivity and cultural appreciation?
Absolutely. The concept of Afrocentrism and photography go hand in hand, and in this context, we can also recognize fashion as an art form. Moreover, you can see how it’s all connected to a certain cultural background. There’s also another aspect that brings a bit of your history into it. Of course, it’s not what’s needed in every shot, but in some cases, it gives you a good idea of the process behind the photos I take.

How did you accept the commission for Lavazza’s calendar project?
On an ordinary day, I received an email from Lavazza’s team. I waited for a week and then decided to propose the concept of working together, of unity. Everything started from the photos that depicted the young people together on the beach. I’m a big fan of simplicity, and sometimes the most astonishing images come from the simplest ideas. These images, which centralize the theme, are, in my opinion, the most powerful because beneath all those layers, the simple idea of working as one shines through.

What are your primary sources of inspiration in photography, cinema, and fashion?
My inspiration always changes depending on where I am. Currently, I’m more interested in architecture and composition, so I’m trying to improve the way I use space. I’m studying Bauhaus, Gothic architecture, and the movement. Additionally, choreography and contemporary dance – actually, all forms of dance – are a significant source of inspiration for me. Love, the idea of being loved, losing love, and being in love also fascinates me greatly at this moment.

Daniel Obasi’s Vision of Africa in Lavazza’s New Calendar
Photography
Daniel Obasi’s Vision of Africa in Lavazza’s New Calendar
Daniel Obasi’s Vision of Africa in Lavazza’s New Calendar
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Baran’s emotional portraits

Baran’s emotional portraits

Collater.al Contributors · 1 month ago · Photography

Click when words fail is the name that the photographer Baran uses on social media and on her website. This phrase says a lot about her and her research. Words are often unable to return an emotion, communicate a feeling, or express it in the right terms. A photograph can do that. This happens to Mah (Baran) Mohammadasghari, a young Iranian photographer who immigrated to Canada, who begins to photograph as a therapeutic act. Her photographs, also published on Photo Vogue, are an authentic emotional and personal portrait. Her story and pain are reflected in every shot, whether it’s a self-portrait or a street photo. «I imagine my emotions and stories in a photographic way» says Baran that with her photographs she is able to convey human vulnerability and fragility.

Below each post of Baran, the photographer leaves a description always touching. A visual and narrative story of an emotion and it does so in a totally intimate and without filters. We had the pleasure of talking with her on the occasion of the exhibition Collater.al Photography held last September at the Fondazione Matalon in Milan. The story that communicates with the shot on display is emblematic of her photographic research. «This shot is part of a self-portrait project called Bereavement, which I started after my mother’s death five months ago. In this photo I am with my cat, Toranj, who has been with me for 14 years.» Baran tells us, «I adopted her when I was in Iran and she also immigrated to Canada with me. We spend a lot of time together, as in this photo, especially when I don’t feel good emotionally and she understands it perfectly and is with me as much as I want.» The loss of her mother and the pain she suffered are recurring in Baran’s shots, as in my mom is back as a bird – the shot published by Vogue – which tells the moment when “she saw her mother fly away from the window“. «I saw her flying out of the window… forever… and I died… forever… It was 3 AM or 2 AM… I do not really recall… two days ago … or three … well feels like… 2 million years ago in my scattered heart…»

Scatto in mostra a Collater.al Photography 2023
 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Mah (Baran) Mohammadasghari (@clickwhenwordsfail)

Courtesy Baran

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Fashion Photography According to Cindy Sherman

Fashion Photography According to Cindy Sherman

Anna Frattini · 1 month ago · Photography, Style

In Hamburg, there is an exhibition dedicated to Cindy Sherman‘s relationship with the world of fashion, titled ANTI-FASHION. The exhibition is taking place at the Falckenberg Collection, specifically at the Deichtor Hallen Internationale Kunst und Fotografie Hamburg. This exhibition traces the career and commissions of the American photographer by major brands and magazines. Chanel and Stella McCartney are just two of the brands that, along with some industry magazines, have commissioned Cindy Sherman for some of the photographs on display.

cindy sherman
 Untitled #462, 2007/2008 Private Collection Europe

The impressions created by Sherman in her photographs are far from glamorous, sexy, or elegant. Her work features subjects that are not traditionally desirable, and it certainly goes against the grain. Sherman uses fashion photography as a starting point to closely examine themes such as sex, gender, and age, demonstrating, but not limited to, these topics. Through the multitude of characters she portrays, Cindy Sherman shows us how the concept of identity is ever-changing and constantly evolving. In the accompanying critical text for the exhibition, the concept of (self-)constructed identity is discussed, which is a fluid concept that continues to challenge us even today.

cindy sherman
Untitled #602, 2019 Gilles Renaud Collection

There are numerous national and international contributions to this exhibition, the first dedicated to fashion in Cindy Sherman’s photographs. It includes 50 photographs from five decades of her career. ANTI-FASHION, curated by Alessandra Nappo, offers a unique opportunity to discover an unexpected aspect of Cindy Sherman, unveiling the influences and inspirations that the photographer has brought to the fashion world and how this influence continues to inspire entire generations of photographers.

cindy sherman
 Untitled #133, 1984 Staatsgalerie Stuttgart

The exhibition will remain open until March 3, 2024. Here you can find more informations on ANTI-FASHION.

ph. © Cindy Sherman

Fashion Photography According to Cindy Sherman
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