Who: Christian Paul Kägi is the creative director of QWSTION, an object design brand actively engaged in the research and development of sustainable everyday essentials.
When: Kägi is engaged in multiple ventures addressing design. After studying industrial design at ZHdK, Zurich, he opened Aekae Design-Studio with Fabrice Aeberhard in Zurich in 2015. In 2008 he created the brand QWSTION with Fabrice Aeberhard, Sebastian Kruit, Matthias Graf and Hannes Schönegger. He is also part of the group who created Viu Eyewear, with Fabrice Aeberhard, Kilian Wagner, Peter Kaeser and Dominik Müller.
Kägi has also been involved in art and project spaces, such as Café Z am Park and Wäscherei (Interieur) in Zurich, for which he received the Project Space Award from the Swiss Federal Office of Culture in 2011.
Where: The QWSTION Bananatex Collection received the Golden Hare in Hochparterre’s “Die Besten” awards in 2018. Sire was incorporated into the permanent design exhibition at the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich, in 2016. The QWSTION All Weather Coat received the Eco Design Award from the German Environment Agency, Berlin in 2016. Take a seat received the Bronze Hare in Hochparterre’s “Die Besten” awards in 2014.
What: As its name implies, QWSTION asks questions: for example, why are most bags made of synthetic textiles? Is it better to prioritise low prices for the consumer or to ensure a steady income for a larger number of people? And how can the design of a product react to these questions?
QWSTION answers in its own way, through innovative, out-of-the-box thinking — and by looking at the full picture. That led to the discovery that is it possible to work with Abaca plant fibre and transform it into a durable material, Bananatex.
While creating its own collection of bags, QWSTION developed Bananatex as an open-source project, an incentive for other brands and designers to experiment with this organic fibre. QWSTION also started a collaboration with fashion designer Rafael Kouto on a new line of bags.
Why: QWSTION answers urgent global issues with fashionable designs.
