wacco: oriori bags at yakitate

japanese designer and illustrator wakako kita from wacco presented her ‘oriori’ bag collection in the designboom-curated show yakitate! at dwell on design 2011 in los angeles, june 24 – 26, 2011.

‘yakitate’ is japanese for ‘freshly baked’, and this designboom curated cultural group exhibition featured the work of eight

upcoming talents working in the contemporary design scene in japan, exploring the role of tradition and innovation,

from functional design to sculpture through their work. in the diverse fields of animation, lighting design, architecture,

textile design and craft, the young talents explore the role of tradition and innovation, from functional design to sculpture.

for the duration of the show, the participating designers delivered 30 minute workshop performances, twice a day to visitors,

giving them an up close look to their work and design process. large crowds gathered, offering a lively atmosphere.

Q+A sessions in each of these workshops were translated for those designers who were less fluent in english language.

image © designboom

wakako kita brought lots of colorful origami figures to show the audience where the idea of her ‘oriori’ bags derives from. using the traditional origami folding technique, her bags can change their volume if necessary and can be folded into thin strips to be conveniently stored. some fabric bags are printed with her own graphics and colorful illustrations, while others are made of japanese washi paper.

origami samples image © designboom

wakako’s oriori bags attract lots of visitors and pressimages © designboom

young visitors to the exhibition are fascinated by the origami figures image © designboom

various oriori bags and orgiami samples images © designboom

‘oriori’ bag unfolded and folded

‘oriori’ bag with illustration by wakako kita

‘oriori’ textile bag