Now Playing Plastique Ludique

Luc Boegly/Les Arts DécoratifsA view of “Plastique Ludique” at Les Arts Décoratifs.

Studio ToastLibuse Niklova’s 1971 Yellow Giraffe is one of a series of inflatable toys by the Czech designer.

At Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the summer crowds have gravitated to the Hussein Chalayan show and the exhibition of highlights from Ralph Lauren’s car collection. I was glad to see both on a recent trip Denmark Soccer Jersey, but I was also lucky to spot a sign for another, less-heralded exhibition at the museum. “Plastique Ludique” (“Playful Plastic”), which runs until Nov. 6, presents the work of the Czech toy designer Libuse Niklova (1934-1981), whose work with plastics, particularly in the 1960s and ’70s, changed the look — and the nature — of toys in her native country. Niklova believed that children should be able to play as creatively as possible, and the development of plastics after World War II offered a helpful tool. Her inflatable buffalo, giraffe and elephant, with their simplified, graphic silhouettes and bright, pop colors, could be used as chairs or pool toys for small children. (The three have been reissued in limited numbers and are for sale at the museum’s shop.) And Niklova’s ingenious use of pleated plastic piping produced animals with accordion-like midsections that squealed when squeezed. In contrast to the Chalayan and Lauren exhibitions, which are about the more expensive pleasures of the material world, “Plastique Ludique” offers a surprising, refreshing look at a more modest — yet no less inventive — endeavor.