project by Jólan van der Wiel at ISSEY MIYAKE

Since ISSEY MIYAKE opened in March 2017, every year during the week of Salone del Mobile it presents a project where it collaborates with designers, artists, or other creative professionals alike to celebrate the joy of creativity, and by doing so it intends to deliver an excitement that people of all ages can relate to.

This year from April 9th to14th, ISSEY MIYAKE in Milan is pleased to invite Dutch designer Jólan van der Wiel to present Journey of a Raindrop: The strange attraction of water.

Van der Wiel’s work draws inspirations from nature like many other designers, and what sets him apart from the others is the way he incorporates nature as a tool into his design process. His research not only focuses on representing the forms and shapes found in nature but also goes beyond to explore ways to recreate the phenomena in nature that give rise to these forms and shapes.
As he attempts to manipulate natural phenomena and make them work in his favor, the design he creates always seems to carry a sense of peculiar beauty.

Jólan van der Wiel

Jólan van der Wiel leads a collaborative design practice that conducts artistic experiments in multiple environments. His creative explorations result in original design tools, new materials and unique objects.
Jólan van der Wiel established his multidisciplinary practice in 2011 in Amsterdam and now in Zutphen. Starting from his personal fascination with extreme natural phenomena, he creates unusual shapes and materials that challenge our understanding of “invisible” forces. To achieve this, Van der Wiel works closely with architects, scientists, fashion designers, brands and institutions, such as Iris van Herpen, Benthem Crouwel Architects, Volvo Car Group and Dom Perignon. His work has been exhibited internationally from China to the US, including recent shows at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. His best-known piece, the Gravity Stool, is part of the permanent collections of the Vitra Design Museum and the National Gallery of Victoria Australia.

ISSEY MIYAKE / MILAN

Via Bagutta 12, 20121 Milan
Tel.+39-02-781040

ISSEY MIYAKE opened its first flagship store in Italy on March 15th, 2017 at Via Bagutta 12, in the Quadrilatero district of Milan. The store sits inside Palazzo Reina, an historic mansion built in the 19th century that has been faithfully restored with an approximately 500-square-meter store space designed by Tokujin Yoshioka.