Chair, 'Cabbage chair', designed by Oki Sato [nendo], pleated paper, 2008

A stool constructed of layers of pleated paper.

This chair was made as a scale prototype for the Cabbage Chair (2008). Nendo's designer Oki Sato was one of a group of artists and designers commissioned in 2008 by the fashion designer Issey Miyake to imagine 'how things would be in the future'. The Cabbage Chair was Sato's contribution, exhibited with the other commissioned work at the 21_21 Design Sight Gallery in Roppongi, Tokyo.

In his design, Oki Sato focussed on the idea of re-using materials. He began experimenting with the rolls of paper that had been discarded in the process of making Miyake's 'Pleats Please' collection. With this prototype, Sato managed to create a chair made entirely from paper, with no additional core or supports. The chair's design was developed using this and other prototypes in different materials, colours and sizes. Full-scale versions were made in fabric.

The V&A also holds an example of the final Cabbage Chair design (W.22-2011).

This prototype chair was made in 2008 by the Tokyo-based studio, nendo. A scale prototype for the 'Cabbage Chair' (W.22-2011), it is made entirely from waste paper. In creating the Cabbage Chair, Nendo designer Oki Sato was interested in re-using materials. The final version of the Cabbage Chair uses fabric left over from the process of making fashion designer Issey Miyake's 'Pleats Please' collection. With this prototype, Sato managed to create a chair made entirely from paper, with no additional core or supports. The chair's final design was then developed using this and other prototypes in different materials, colours and sizes. The rough appearance of the chair contrasts with its comfort, the recycling of materials and the minimal production and distribution costs make it a valuable addition to the evolving debate on design and sustainability.

W.2-2013