On June 29, 2019, the Petersen Automotive Museum will open a new exhibit featuring minimalist vehicles and complementary works by shoe designer Rem D Koolhaas and industrial designer Joey Ruiter. Located in the Armand Hammer Foundation Gallery, “Disruptors” will explore how each designer’s perspective upends the status quo of traditional vehicle design by eliminating complexity to create visually arresting yet completely functional automobiles and other means of transportation. Rem D Koolhaas, nephew and namesake of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, created the award-winning fashion label United Nude in 2003. United Nude is widely known for blending the worlds of fashion and architecture within abstract yet functional objects such as shoes, chairs and personal accessories.JoeyRuiter has worked with Herman Miller and other renowned brands designing products ranging from furniture to watercraft. Joey seeks to challenge common expectations, an aim that often yields startling and thought-provoking designs. Although Koolhaas and Ruiter do not come from automotive backgrounds, they both independently began applying their dramatic design approaches to the automobile, resulting in vehicles with limited facets and curves that are still technically advanced and fully functional.
One of the seperate pieces included in the exhibition is the shoe designed by Rem D Koolhaas and Iris van Herpen. They designed the shoe for the costume department of The Hunger Games films.