Tokujin Yoshioka Designs a Journey Through Past and Future

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

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?

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?

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?

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?

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.