Biennale
Internationale
Design
Saint-Étienne
Dépliages
The body and the industrial object get to grips
Exhibition 6 april - 31 julyDépliages (Unfolding) puts on display a selection of objects, clothing and accessories produced recently 35 French firms and designers, who have changed the way they innovate, design or produce objects connected to the body and intimate - and equally political - experiences we engage in when we seek to hydrate, clothe, move and care for our bodies.
How do the processes involved in designing objects, clothing and accessories change as they come into contact with the moving human body, and its diversity according age, gender, state of health and ability/disability of future users.
This exhibition delivers a key message: to create these objects, in-house designers are faced with a multitude of constraints and opportunities - technical aesthetic, physiological, ecological, social and economic.
Dépliages looks at the different ways of reconciling them, showing what design can bring to the mix and, in particular, the role played by the choice of materials and the place given to users in this design process.
Visitors will discover objects that contain, envelope, cover, protect, roll, slide, support or encourage our moving bodies. They are progressively invited to leave behind the approach to the body that constantly seeks to control, monitor and optimise it. In contrast, a light and airy, poetic scenography illustrates how the body is the subject of symbols, representations and imagination.
6 examples that reflect the diversity of the projects presented:
• A collector for rainwater so that it is there when you really need it
• A lightweight, eco-designed outfit to protect
sportswomen from the cold
• An electric bike with a navigation cockpit
• A diving mask with an unlikely new fate
• An haute couture outfit made from ready-to-wear offcuts
• An airless tyre made of bio-based materials which can be regenerated as many times as you want
By unfolding the methods of the designers whose work is on display to show how they are responding to contemporary issues, the exhibition is also indirectly highlighting the role companies have to play in shaping our response to these bifurcations. A theme that has become a core issue at a time when our experience of lockdown has revealed both the fragilities of our modes of production and all the daily care and attention our bodies need.
Florian Traullé is a designer working in the Salomon R&D department in Annecy, where he has been working on industrial design projects for 25 years. He has also worked for Jean-Paul Gaultier and for Michelin, where he was involved in creating, manufacturing and testing the performance of innovative tyres. At Salomon, his research is focused on the body, textile innovation and the development of sports accessories. He also participates in numerous projects on sustainability, repairs, recycling and also bi-manufacturing.
