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Everybody loves balloons. An exciting addition to the amusement of popular gatherings, they attract us with their vivid colours and a feeling of floating. Designers and artists create truly extraordinary things inspired by the idea of being taken away by a bunch of helium-filled balloons.

Back in 2011, French artist Olivier Grossetête used three enormous helium-filled balloons to float a rope bridge over a lake in a Japanese garden of Tatton Park, a historic estate in north-west England. Named Pont de Singe, which means “monkey bridge”, the structure was created for the Tatton Park Biennial, which was themed around flight.

The artist devised a long rope bridge made of cedar wood but replaced its usual foundations and joints with three balloons, leaving the bridge’s ends to trail in the water.

Though visitors weren’t allowed to use the bridge, it would theoretically be strong enough to hold the weight of a person, according to Grossetête.

Though this bench design by Japanese studio h220430 led by appears to be held up in midair by bunches of balloons, it is not exactly what it seems. Inspired by the feeling of floating that the main character felt in the classic French movie Le Ballon Rouge, the Balloon Bench is made of aluminium and suspended from the ceiling by four anchors concealed by clusters of polyethylene balloons. All this successfully creates the illusion that a substantial bench is lifted by only a few delicate balloons.

Founder of the studio Japanese designer Satoshi Itasaka explains that he drew his inspiration for the ethereal sculpture from the 1953 film, which tells the story of a boy that befriends a red balloon. The bench is available in an aged upholstered red leather finish, which aims to reflect on the deterioration from the continuous occurring conflicts from around the world.

Helium-10000 puffer jacket created by Italian designer Andrew Kostman is not suspended by balloons, it is rather a balloon by itself. The designer has filled the garment with helium instead of down using a valve near the hem and an accompanying canister of the lighter-than-air gas, which allows the jacket to be refilled twice. Each charge keeps the Helium-10000 afloat for up to two weeks.

Although the clothing item cannot lift the wearer off the ground, it can be carried around like a balloon using a long dangling tag. As the jacket can float on its own, the user can leave it floating on the ceiling as a work of art instead of hanging it on a coat rack. The designer admits that the item has been designed to amaze and make people realise that more can be done if we overcome our traditional thinking and approach things from a different angle.

The garment is made using an undisclosed synthetic sheeting material that the designer claims is lightweight and durable. It comes in six metallic colourways, from an iridescent rainbow gradient to  deep black. According to Kostman, the most challenging issue to be overcome was fusing the various different panels of the jacket in a way that is secure while still allowing them to be inflated and makes  the seams resistant enough for the garment to be wearable. The solution was to make them double-stitched, as an oval-shaped seam elongated and squeezed.

The Helium-10000 is available as a limited edition of 100 pieces.