Issey Miyake design dream realised

LIMITED EDITION: L'eau d'Issey fragrance.

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In 1997, the Italian free-spirited designer, Ettore Sottsass met Issey Miyake, the maverick Japanese fashion designer. Miyake asked Sottsass to create a bottle for his now famous L'eau d'Issey fragrance.

Sottsass, who died two years ago, was one of the pillars of Italian design. He is best known as the founder of the influental Memphis movement in the 1980s and for his work with Olivetti, Esprit, Poltronova, Knoll International and Alessi.

Sottsass's original sketch for Miyake was a transparent, ovoid-shaped glass bottle, tapered at the ends. Inside the bottle were intertwining strands in red, orange and pink. For technical reasons, the project was never completed.

Now, in 2009, this partly hand-made bottle has seen the light of day in a numbered edition of 2000 world-wide. Only 10 are available in Australia and two of them have already been sold at A$495 (NZ$616) a bottle.

That sounds like the fortune, so let's put it in a perspective.

Sottsass's work is highly sought after. Shapiro Auctioneers sold a Srio glass vase designed by Sotssas for $4000 late last year.

Fragrances regularly sell for more than $300 a bottle and a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses can set you back $940. Perhaps this collectable, limited luxe perfume is not as outrageous as it might seem at first sniff?

- © Fairfax NZ News