rie sakamoto knits rubber bands together to create fashion collection

japanese designer rie sakamoto has created a fashion collection by knitting elastic rubber bands together. including a dress and a jacket, the project aims to shine a light on the lowly item whilst underlining the functionality of often overlooked materials.

images courtesy of rie sakamoto

to create each garment, sakamoto painstakingly knitted rubber bands into panels, similar to knitting yarn with needles. she then assembled them into the shapes of a sweater dress and a matching cardigan. it took her up to half a year to finish the project.

the designer started working with elastic bands after noticing their aesthetic qualities. in addition to the texture and flexibility, sakamoto became acutely aware of their sheerness and color when she knitted several together and held them up to the sunlight.

in addition to the collection’s aesthetic qualities as a result of using rubber bands, their are also functional benefits that aren’t immediately obvious. for instance, the stretch enables each garment to morph to different body-shapes and sizes with ease making for a perfect fit.

the designer’s ‘rubber collection’ was on view in tokyo as part of a group graduate exhibition at tama art university in tokyo in january. you can follow rie sakamoto on twitter.

project info

name: rubber collection
designer: rie sakamoto
source: spoon tamago