Rie Hosokai Balloon Couture

Every designer has a few basics they 'need' to get started... Like needles, thread, fabrics and so on. But Japanese designer Rie Hosokai shows us another way of thinking outside of the box, or balloon?
Hosokai began her career as a florist before venturing into the world of balloon art and starting her own company, Daisy Balloon.

She twists and turns all the balloons to create a garment-yes a real life wearable garment- that looks strong and vulnerable at the same time. Why balloons? Yes, that's what I was wondering about too.

Rie Hosokai: “There are latitude and longitude balloons to be woven together, so it’s quite similar to fabric”...

Beautiful! But such a shame that every dress doesn't last more than 24 hours...

Hosokai constructs each piece by hand. Although the materials are inexpensive—about 9 cents per balloon—each featherweight (and biodegradable) creation carries a price tag ranging from $1,930 to $3,860.