Fewer creative gems on display as Tokyo Designers Week goes populist

Another week, another design festival. But does this proliferation of events across Asia spell the death of the creative launch pads they represented a few years ago? If this month’s Tokyo Designers Week (TDW) this year – once considered the epitome of good design – is anything to go by, the future looks bleak.

The annual event, in its 28th year, has been rebranded into a “creative festival”, adding art and music tailored with a keen commercial eye for the local market. Expanding the notion of design is commendable but not when it means overpowering or, in the case of Tokyo, replacing creative displays with number-generating spaces such as a British beer garden.

There were, however, still a few creative gems on show, most notably the creative collaboration between Japanese toilet manufacturer TOTO, Torafu Architects, Noriko Hashida, Asao Tokolo and Mai Miyake, to mark the 20th anniversary of phenomenally popular Washlet integrated Neorest toilet. The exhibition included a gigantic toilet roll, toilet bowls reflecting light-activated poetry and graphic designs for the bathroom of the future.

While furniture design is usually a TDW highlight, this year there were only a few worth noting: Outofstock’s Pikku birch wood furniture range stood out for its practical expandable design and understated Nordic style, while designer Takayuki Kawai’s efficient combination of emergency helmet and modern chair drew attention, not least because of a strong quake on the opening day.