It’s not often that the Japanese lifesyle brand Muji, known for its tightly edited offerings and minimalist ‘no-brand' approach to everyday goods, collaborates with outside designers. The 10th anniversary of its retail launch in New York, however, called for a celebratory occasion that motivated Muji US president Toru Tsunoda to tap a local American designer for its first-ever New York Design Week activation.
Ladies & Gentlemen Studio duo Dylan Davis and Jean Lee were tasked to create an immersive, large-scale installation exploring Muji’s distinct design ethos and use of honest materials. They presented a clever twist on this, inspired by traditional Japanese rock gardens. ‘We really wanted to create an installation that people could experience in an immersive way,’ says Lee.
Muji Materials Garden by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio at Muji
Far from the splashy activations typical of design festivals, Muji Materials Garden presents a series of mediative vignettes exploring the origins of Muji's signature product offerings in wood, stainless steel, plastic, cotton, ceramics, paper, and glass. Various designs are paired with their elemental sources – glass bowls are set atop sand; cotton apparel hangs beside a cluster of wispy fronds; ceramic dishes sit atop plinths of clay slabs; clear storage units hover above a pool of opaque plastic pellets; and a stainless steel desk is paired among rocks and minerals from which the material is mined and melded.
A gravel path linking the vignettes together provides a haptic and visual lesson in contemporary material science, conflating nature and the manmade in pairings that are surprisingly soothing in spite of the industrial processes that occur in between. Davis explains, ‘as designers, we wanted visitors to see what we see when we consider a material, and capture that fascination.’
See more from New York Design Week here
INFORMATION
Muji Materials Garden is on view until 29 May. For more information, visit the website
ADDRESS
Muji Soho pop-up
434 Broadway
New York, NY
10013
-
Italian-Japanese fusion’s a joy at east London’s Osteria AngelinaA Victorian warehouse in Spitalfields has been given a slick modern makeover to house a unique Italian-Japanese restaurant
-
Meet the Palestinian artist putting a candy-coloured twist on traditional glassmakingWith her company Ornamental by Lameice, designer Lameice Abu Aker is bringing joy and optimism to a time-honoured craft
-
Messika’s fluid jewellery is given a textural twistThe Parisian brand borrows a textural finish previously reserved for high jewellery with its new collection, ‘Move Ciselé’
-
Ralph Pucci’s new Provence exhibition celebrates sculpture in its purest formTo mark 70 years of Ralph Pucci International, the New York gallery is collaborating with top designers to bring scaled, textural forms to Château La Coste
-
New York Design Week 2025: live updates from the Wallpaper* teamNow through 21 May, design is taking over the Big Apple. Here's the latest news, launches and other goings-on from NYCxDesign, as seen by Wallpaper* editors.
-
What not to miss at NYCxDesign 2025, according to our editorsFrom mega furniture fairs to can't-miss parties, here's what to catch at North America's biggest celebration of design
-
Basic.Space launches its first IRL shopping event – in an empty West Hollywood mallWith the launch of its first in-person event in LA this weekend, the e-commerce platform is looking to bring collectible design to a whole new audience
-
Design Miami 2024 is alive with possibility: here are 14 things to seeDesign Miami 2024 opens 4-8 December – let Wallpaper* guide you to the highlights, from dazzling installations to plump sofas and anthropomorphic sculptures
-
Nendo’s collaborations with Kyoto artisans go on view in New York‘Nendo sees Kyoto’ is on view at Friedman Benda (until 15 October 2022), showcasing the design studio's collaboration with six artisans specialised in ancient Japanese crafts
-
Italian craftsmanship comes to Los Angeles in this eclectic Venice Canals apartmentBoffi Los Angeles celebrates a juxtaposition of texture throughout a waterside bolthole
-
Design Miami/Basel 2022 explores the Golden AgeDesign Miami/Basel 2022, led by curatorial director Maria Cristina Didero, offers a positive spin after the unprecedented times of the pandemic, and looks at the history and spirit of design
