HIRATA NO BOSHI

For the first major Japanese retrospective of internationally-known milliner Hirata Akio at the Spiral Garden in Tokyo the designers of nendo created an installation in which thousands of hats seem to float between the floor and ceiling. Suspended from invisible threads these 4000 hats surrounded the visitors and appeared to hover like ghosts.
“For the exhibition space, we wanted to make Hirata’s hats stand out. The mass-produced non-woven fabric hats we created for the space are the antithesis of Hirata’s carefully handmade hats, and bring them into sharp relief through dramatic contrast. Hirata oversaw the shape of these hats, which float and stream through the exhibition like ghosts or shells of the real hats exhibited. Some are exhibition stands- others become walls, ceilings and diffusers to scatter light through the space. The visitors won’t find clear-cut paths to follow but an environment in which they can wander and discover Hirata’s creations as they like, as a way of physically experiencing the creative freedom that underlies Hirata’s work.”, Oki Sato (nendo).