This article was taken from the June issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content bysubscribing online
William Thurston, a 63-year old mathematician at Cornell University, New York, claims his mother made dresses based on principles of non-Euclidean geometry -- so his hand in Issey Miyake’s collection for Autumn/Winter 2010 wasn’t entirely unprecedented.
Miyake’s creative director Dai Fujiwara and his team used Thurston’s geometric models as a basis for their catchily titled “8 Geometry Link Models as Metaphor of the Universe”. The resulting garments drape, knot and twist inways that echo Thurston’s geometrisation conjecture.
Fujiwara came across Thurston’s work in 2009 – unsurprising, since they share an interest in how three-dimensional shapes are made from two-dimensional objects, such as fabric. Thurston recognised a kindred spirit and invited Fujiwara and his team to spend time in topology and geometric group theory seminars at Cornell. “Dai had a feeling for the spirit beneath the surface,” says Thurston.
The collection was unveiled in Paris in March, where, Fujiwara claims, “We used the technology of mathematics to make art.”
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
