Issey Miyake Uses LED Light And Shadow In Latest Collection

Although he might be better known for clothing and fragrances – even legendary fashion designer can’t resist having a play with some LED lights to see what he can create.

The results though are stunning.

Whether it seems like it or not, this shadowy ‘light sculpture’ is made from a single sheet of folded fabric. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the fabric itself is made entirely from recycled plastic bottles.

The range of highly contemporary lights from Japanese designer Issey Miyake called IN-EI, literally means “Shadow, Shadiness, Nuance”, and has been done for Italian lighting company Armetide.

They were developed as part of an ongoing process called 132 5. by Miyake’s research and development team Reality Lab.

It started with the 132 5. clothing range in 2010, and uses a mathematical program with 3D geometric principles to turn single pieces of folded fabric into three dimensional garments or sculptures.

The fabric from which the lamps are made is derived entirely from recycled materials.

The cloth – comprised of old plastic bottles – use an ground breaking technology that greatly reduces both energy consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 80% compared to the manufacturing of completely new materials.

The LED lights then bring the whole structure to life – diffusing light in an interesting and unexpected fashion, resulting in subtle layers of light and shadow.

Whilst the wattages and effects vary from product to product, they all use warm white (3000K) LED lights.

The range includes products for table, floor and pendant lamps.

“When you see them, you can’t help but feel moved; when you understand them, you are full of wonder seeing a future we thought unreachable and couldn’t imagine this beautiful” said Armetide founder Ernesto Gismondi.

The lamps hold their shape without the need for an internal frame thanks to the structure of the fibres. They can however also be folded flat with ease – making them easy to transport and store if necessary.

The collection recently scooped up the iF Product Design Award for 2013. The lamps were on show at the Issey Miyake boutique at 11 Rue Royale, 75008 Paris up until June 30^th as part of the city-wide festival – Designer’s Day.

What do you think of these lights? Give us your opinion on the IN-EI collection in the comments.