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april 14, 2015 - Lexus

Sense-wear wins the 2015 Lexus Design Award

Lexus is proud to announce that the project Sense-Wear by Emanuela Corti and Ivan Parati (Group: Caravan) has been recognised as the Grand Prix Winner of the 2015 Lexus Design Award competition. The award was handled to the winner by Tokuo Fukuichi, President of Lexus International, during a ceremony held today in the Lexus Space at the Milan Design Week.
 

Sense-Wear is a collection of garment and accessories designed to improve sense awareness. Some items help mute physical sensations, while others help sharpen them, allowing wearers to experience the sensory world from a new perspective. The designers were mentored by Robin Hunicke for the development of a prototype displayed in the Lexus Space in Milan.

Paola Antonelli, Jury Member and Senior Curator in the department of Architecture and Design at MOMA NYC, commented as follows in the name of the Jury: ‘The jury was both impressed and delighted by the standard of all of twelve winning projects of the Lexus Design Award 2015, and the skill, imagination and dedication that produced them. Collectively, these projects act as a compelling demonstration of the ambition and diversity of contemporary design by addressing the 2015 theme of the Senses and exploring such important issues as environmentalism, special needs, urbanism, energy scarcity, health and play. The jury was particularly pleased to see the progress made by the four finalists in developing their initial concepts with the help of their mentors, whose ingenuity and generosity makes such an important contribution to the success of the Lexus Design Award.

‘Difficult though it was to choose one Grand Prix winner from the four remarkable finalists, the jury’s unanimous choice is Sense-Wear. It is very rare to find a design project, which is joyous, formally seductive and fulfils such an important function, by developing clothing that can act as a form of therapy for people with autism, Tourette syndrome and other special needs.’

The winners, Emanuela Corti and Ivan Parati, commented: “We are delighted to win this award! We decided to participate to this competition because we particularly like the theme, Senses. We did a lot of research and came across so many things which could lead to new design ideas. Then we selected one project: garments that would improve the life of people, especially people with special needs. We visited specialised institutions, shared our ideas with therapists and integrated their feedback in our project. And actually, we see now that such clothes could be useful for lots of people. In our daily life, we are sometimes confronted with stressful situations in which we would like to build some kind of shelter around us. So, this award represents a great opportunity for us to further develop our idea, and hopefully to help people in the future.”


The Lexus Design Award is in its third edition this year, but it is the first time that a Grand Prix Winner is
nominated among the finalists.

The theme of the 2015 Lexus Design Award was "Senses". Senses are intrinsic to life: they allow perception of the world. Under this broad theme of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting, a wide range of possibilities open. This theme is particularly relevant to Lexus, as the whole driving experience is about senses: from seeing the vehicle styling, to hearing the sound of the finely tuned engine, and to feeling the luxurious leather seats.
In total, 1,171 submissions from 72 countries were received during the application period, which ended on November 3, 2014. Respondents were invited to explore the five senses in pioneering ways. Judging criteria included the depth of understanding and unique interpretation of the competition theme, as well as the uniqueness of perspective and originality of the proposed design concept.

Twelve finalists have been selected after careful consideration by jury members composed of world-renowned designers and creators (*). Among the finalists, four received the unique opportunity to create a prototype of their project, with the help of renowned designers: Robin Hunicke, Arthur Huang, Max Lamb and Neri & Hu. Each of them has personally selected the finalist they mentored, based on uniqueness, originality, relevance to the theme and the possibility of making a prototype.

The Lexus Design Award Grand Prix Winner has been nominated among these four prototype finalists, after a final presentation of their works in front of the Jury, held on April 13 in Milan.

Alain Uyttenhoven, head of Lexus Europe and host of the award ceremony, commented: “For Lexus, design is not only about constantly striving to make even better cars; it is much more than that. Our point of view is that great design can make the world a better place. The Lexus Design Award celebrates innovative and engaging design while empowering young and talented designers, giving them the opportunity to showcase their amazing ideas.”

The Grand Prix work is displayed at the Lexus Space, Via Tortona 32, Milano, from April 14 to 19, together with the 11 other finalists.