Japanese craft meets contemporary design at the V&A

Centuries of Japanese craftsmanship meet contemporary experimentation in Craft x Tech, a new exhibition at the V&A during London Design Festival. Six artisans from Japan’s Tokai region have collaborated with international designers to reinterpret techniques spanning ceramics, washi paper, textiles, cloisonné enamel and braided cord. Founded by designer and engineer Hideki Yoshimoto, the project treats tradition as a living source of knowledge rather than something fixed in the past. The resulting objects reveal how material intelligence, technology and cross-cultural exchange can give historic craft unexpected new forms.