The story behind Bao Bao Issey Miyake’s high-precision ‘Dazzle’ bags
Created using micron-level injection moulding, Bao Bao Issey Miyake’s new ‘Dazzle’ series marks the latest chapter in the Japanese brand’s uniquely recognisable accessories
Multiple iterations of Bao Bao Issey Miyake’s uniquely recognisable accessories – known for their triangular structure and futuristic aesthetic – have been offered by the innovative Japanese brand since 2000, when the line was first launched under Pleats Please Issey Miyake (in 2010, it became its own standalone brand).
The latest addition to the Bao Bao Issey Miyake family provides perhaps its most technologically advanced approach to the design concept yet. Titled ‘Dazzle’, the new series of tote bags are composed from puzzle piece-like ‘units’ that are slotted together to create theoretically endless combinations (the original aim of Bao Bao Issey Miyake was to create accessories with ‘infinite versatile shapes’).
High-precision design: ‘Dazzle’ by Bao Bao Issey Miyake
These translucent polypropylene units, each identical in shape, are created using a high-precision injection moulding technique (Bao Bao Issey Miyake notes that such is the level of the machinery used, micron-level adjustments can be made to the geometric designs). The pieces are tested together in various forms, ensuring ‘optimum strength and mobility’; indeed, despite a seemingly structured exterior, the bag has a feeling of lightness and remains slouchy in shape like its fabric counterparts.
‘The unique scalability of the material allows each bag to create infinite shapes, to be flexible, and to be functional as an enduring accessory,’ says the brand of the ‘radical’ design, which it describes as ‘aesthetically contemporary, crafted to suit the ever-diversifying and ever-changing trends of today’.
Bao Bao Issey Miyake sees the future of the ‘Dazzle’ series as one whereby singular pieces can be replaced after damage or wear – instead of replacing the entire bag – while also being customisable (this service was only available in Japan for a limited period during April and May, where unique colour combinations could be pre-ordered and custom-created by the brand).
For now, the ‘Dazzle’ series receives its European premiere in London’s Selfridges, available now both in the department store’s accessories hall and online. Colours, each translucent in appearance, span shades of cool grey, pale blue and orange.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
isseymiyake.com
selfridges.com
Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*, joining the team in 2022. Having previously been the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 and 10 Men magazines, he has also contributed to titles including i-D, Dazed, 10 Magazine, Mr Porter’s The Journal and more, while also featuring in Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.
-
Benjamin Li celebrates the Netherlands’ Chinese-Indonesian restaurants
‘In Search of Perfect Orange’ re-stages Benjamin Li's book, ‘Chinees-Indisch Restaurant Stickeralbum’ at Foam, Amsterdam
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Alcova to curate Heimtextil Trends 25/26: expect ‘inspiration and surprise’
German textile fair Heimtextil has launched a new collaboration with Alcova, the experimental design platform. Here’s what to expect from the January 2025 fair
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Published
-
SOPHIE's posthumous album is a reminder of her enduring legacy
It's been nearly four years since boundary-breaking electronic music producer and artist, SOPHIE, tragically passed away. As fans are gifted a last, posthumous album completed by her loved ones, music critic El Hunt reflects on her remarkable legacy
By El Hunt Published
-
Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UK
As A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake launches in London this week, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae gives Wallpaper* the lowdown on the experimental Issey Miyake offshoot
By Jack Moss Published
-
In Memoriam: Issey Miyake (1938 – 2022)
We remember fashion designer Issey Miyake, who has died aged 84
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2022: Louis Vuitton to Loewe, Dior to Hermès
In this extended report, Laura Hawkins reveals 9 highlights from Paris Fashion Week Men's A/W 2022. Including: Virgil Abloh's final collection for Louis Vuitton; Rick Owen's riff on sleaze; elfin-inspired accessories; and a celebration of slouch and surrealism
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Walk this way: navigating S/S 2021's Paris Fashion Week
How the City of Lights looked to the sartorial realities of our much changed lifestyles
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Men's
By Dal Chodha Last updated
-
Issey Miyake S/S 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE S/S 2020 Paris Fashion Week Men's
By Dal Chodha Last updated
-
Issey Miyake A/W 2019 Paris Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins Last updated