Design: Innovative Industrial Designer Kossi Aguessy
Kossi Aguessy [Togo]
[Image credits: Kossi Aguessy, Stella – yatzer]
You may not be familiar with the name Kossi Aguessy, but many will be familiar with his award-winning work in the form of a perfume bottle for Stella McCartney, which just so happens to be one of my favourite perfumes. Born in Lomé, Togo to a mother of African Brazilian descent and a father of Togolese Yoruba descent; and having lived in New York City, London, Brazil, eventually settling in Paris and Rotterdam; Kossi describes himself as a “child of Africa, that pays no attention to the boundaries being then the son of a global education with deep multicultural roots” and this philosophy is reflected in his work.
[Image credits: Kossi Aguessy designs; top right Gang Bang vase
and bottom left Shanti sculpture – yatzer]
Flowing seamlessly across cultures, Kossi’s design aesthetic is inspired by antique cultures, drawing on the past to create the future and giving traditional objects a contemporary makeover if you will. I love the sleek sculptural quality but also picked up on a sense of precious fragility; so was not surprised to read that nature especially the human body is also a source of inspiration.
[Image credits: Kossi Aguessy]
As a child Kossi was forever creating things with his hands and remembers entertaining himself by reproducing the Egyptian pyramids, I guess sowing the seeds for his future career. When reading some of the interviews he has done, Kossi comes across quite a philosophical person, with a natural curiosity for life and someone who is reflective of the things that happen to us every day. Through collaborations with many of the world’s leading companies his work encompasses amongst other things furniture, jewellery, lighting and objects.
[Image credits: deco-design]
One recent project, entitled Masque ZOO has seen Kossi collaborate with French lighting company Kostka to create a range of masks based on the iconic ancient African masks – designs that have stood the test of time and are still relevant today as they were in the past. Available in ten different colours, the designs are meant as an imagining of the evolution of the mask and what they would have looked like in the 21st century.
Information sourced from:
www.madblog.org
www.yatzer.com
Additional details:
Prices for the masks are: 199,0 €
The masks are available exclusively to purchase at: www.lepelican.fr
To find out more about Kossi Aguessy and read interviews visit: www.madblog.org
www.yatzer.com
