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.
