The Future of Fashion Defies Gravity: Elton Ilirjani's Visionary Expo 2025 Performance Merges Art, Tech, and Inclusivity

A Visionary Collaboration at Expo 2025 Osaka

As the global community gathers at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, under the visionary theme "Designing Future Society for our Lives," an unprecedented collaboration is redefining the boundaries of art, fashion, and technology. At the center of this groundbreaking convergence is Elton Ilirjani, known in the modeling world as HANKO, alongside internationally acclaimed Japanese media artist and designer Naoko Tosa. Their joint project, the "Zero Gravity Box," is more than just an exhibit—it's a profound performance piece that challenges traditional notions of beauty, gender, and the future of human experience.

Expo 2025 Osaka is a hub for innovation, focusing on the co-creation of a sustainable society that addresses social challenges, embraces emerging sciences, and leverages evolving technologies. The event runs until October 13, 2025, serving as a global stage for pioneering ideas that will shape our collective future. It is within this forward-thinking environment that the "Zero Gravity Box" emerges, showcasing what happens when cutting-edge technology meets artistic expression and a commitment to inclusivity.

The "Zero Gravity Box" project, led by Naoko Tosa and her team at the Kyoto University Disaster Prevention Research Institute, is a marvel of technological and conceptual design. Developed in partnership with companies like TOPPAN and Shimadzu Corporation, the Zero Gravity Box offers a unique experience through parabolic flights. Participants are immersed in an environment that mimics the serene, weightless space of a mother’s womb before birth—a sensation similar to deep-sea scuba diving. Here, the audience becomes newborns, enveloped by the ethereal "Sound of Ikebana" and the rhythmic heartbeat of a mother, inducing a nostalgic simulation that evokes a powerful sense of rebirth.

Elton Ilirjani steps into this extraordinary installation, transforming it into a live canvas for his performance art. Dressed in an otherworldly ensemble designed by Naoko Tosa, with a stark white face adorned with mesmerizing blue crystals, he embodies an "otherworldly species," perfectly aligned with the project's futuristic narrative. His participation elevates the Zero Gravity Box from a technology showcase to a poignant exploration of humanity's origins and its potential future.

Ilirjani, originally from Albania, is a renowned human rights activist with a significant Instagram following of 12 million. His journey into high fashion began in 2019 when he discovered 3NY, a New York City boutique that championed Asian designers. Captivated by their innovative aesthetics, he began showcasing these designs on his platform, consistently tagging the creators. This organic advocacy blossomed into genuine friendships with designers, leading to invitations to walk for them across the globe—ranging from New York Fashion Week to Seoul Fashion Week.

His initial foray into professional modeling was with BESFXXK, a South Korean label, which quickly paved the way for collaborations with numerous other South Korean designers. Today, Elton's impressive portfolio spans fashion capitals worldwide, including New York, Milan, Paris, London, Athens, Costa Rica, Miami, and Tokyo Fashion Weeks. Most recently, he graced the runways for Jemma Russo and Naoko Tosa at New York Fashion Week, and has walked for celebrated designers like Greedelious and Malan Breton, making waves at Miami Swim Week in the Ema Savahl runway show.

To simply label Elton Ilirjani as a runway model would be to overlook the depth of his contribution to the industry. He is first and foremost a performance artist and an ardent advocate for genderless modeling. A true champion for inclusiveness in the fashion world, Elton is celebrated for his distinctive approach to opening runway shows. Rather than merely presenting a designer's collection, he infuses each walk with performative artistry, drawing inspiration from figures like Yoko Ono, Marina Abramović, and Michele Lamy. For Elton, the runway is a stage—a platform where he uses performance to weave narratives about inclusive modeling and the universal nature of beauty. His slow, deliberate movements down the catwalk are designed to enthrall, transforming a mere display of garments into a captivating, thought-provoking spectacle.

This profound artistic philosophy made Ilirjani the perfect partner for Tosa’s visionary project. His ability to embody a concept and perform the experience was crucial for the Zero Gravity Box. As Elton himself eloquently describes his time within the installation: "The whole experience was reminiscent of being inside your mother’s womb, when you are an embryo, hearing the heartbeat of your mother." He reflects on the more profound implications: "This experience is more than art and fashion; it’s the future. Weightlessness is something people will experience in the future, since people will travel to other planets."

Ilirjani further highlights how the project aligns with his own advocacy for genderless representation: "There is no gender gap either, which is perfect with my project, the genderless modeling. There is no gap in genders, weightlessness, smart mirrors, wonderful sounds, Embryo – it’s futuristic and together with the colors and how it was composed, it was giving micro-gravity or zero gravity." His words underscore the project's seamless integration of cutting-edge technology with progressive social ideals. "I’m proud to be part of this project. I could hear my heartbeat inside the box. I could remember being a fetus inside my mother. The future of life. It gave me a touch of the universe; it elevated me to another level.”

Naoko Tosa, the brilliant mind behind this concept, is a titan in the realm of media art. With a PhD from the University of Tokyo and a past as an artist fellow at MIT’s Centre for Advanced Visual Studies, she currently holds a professorship at Kyoto University. Her work consistently explores the intersection of Japanese tradition and culture with advanced technology, yielding works exhibited in prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the New York Metropolitan Art Museum, and ARS Electronica. Honored with the L'Oreal Grand Prix in 1997 for art and science, and appointed a Japan Cultural Envoy in 2016, Tosa's work is celebrated globally, with pieces held in major museum collections. Her ability to synthesize deep cultural roots with futuristic technological application makes her the quintessential artist to lead a project of this magnitude at the Expo.

The collaboration between Elton Ilirjani and Naoko Tosa at Expo 2025 Osaka is more than just an exhibit; it is a powerful statement about the symbiotic relationship between technology, art, and the evolution of human society. It argues persuasively that technological advancements are not merely tools for efficiency but conduits for deeper understanding, empathy, and reimagining our collective future. By plunging visitors into a simulated uterine environment, the "Zero Gravity Box" prompts a visceral connection to the beginnings of life, while Ilirjani's performance underscores the boundless possibilities of a future unburdened by conventional norms—a future where gender dissolves in the vastness of human potential and the thrill of new experiences.

This pioneering endeavor serves as a compelling microcosm of the Expo's central theme: a future society designed for all lives, where challenges are met with creativity, and technology empowers humanity to transcend its perceived limitations. Through Ilirjani's compelling performance and Tosa's visionary artistry, the Zero Gravity Box isn't just showcasing a technology; it's inviting us to feel the future, to experience a rebirth into a more inclusive, diverse, and weightless world. It’s a persuasive glimpse into how fashion, art, and technology, when fused with purpose, can illuminate the path to our most extraordinary collective destiny.

Photos by Arun Nevader.