Akio Hirata’s Exhibition of Hats by Nendo | Tokyo, Japan.

Ahhhh, Nendo, Nendo, Nendo… Is there ANYTHING you people cannot do? Seriously? Your talent it almost sickening. Except, I am completely in awe and too dazzled to feel sick right now.

Anyway, back to the story. What you are looking at here is the first major retrospective exhibition which celebrates seventy years of work of internationally-known Japanese milliner Hirata Akio. Designed by Nendo of-course.

Nendo’s aim was to make Hirata’s hats stand out by mixing them with over 4,000 mass-produced non-woven fabric hats especially created for this exhibition. The white ‘ghost hats’ represent the antithesis of Hirata’s carefully handmade hats, and bring them into sharp relief through dramatic contrast. The entire installation floats in the space like a cloud, which gently invites and guides the viewers through a non linear path, encouraging them to “wander and discover Hirata’s creations as they like, as a way of physically experiencing the creative freedom that underlies Hirata’s work.”

This exhibition is held at the Srial Garden in Tokyo, and it will run until July 3rd, 2011.

[Photos by Daici Ano.]