Tokujin Yoshioka: Design Miami's Designer of the Year, class of 2007

Design Miami hands out one Designer of the Year a year; in 2007 the American fair gave it to Tokujin Yoshioka. The résumé since reads like a dare: a paper chair (Honey-pop), a naturally grown crystal armchair (VENUS), the Sakura Torch for Tokyo 2020, commissions from Cartier, Louis Vuitton and LG — and shelf space at the MoMA. Trained under Shiro Kuramata and Issey Miyake; independent since 2000.

Specifying that mind in an American office starts at floor level: his ceramics for Mutina travel through La Mercanti from Italy, logistics included — wonder you can walk on.