Articles
DESIGN TRENDS NEW YORK
DESIGN DEVOTEES DESCENDED ON THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS WHERE THE MOST INNOVATIVE DESIGN IDEAS ARE FIRST INTRODUCED AND EVENTUALLY BECOME WORLDWIDE SENSATIONS. NEW YORK LIVED UP TO HER REPUTATION, AS TRITE AS IT MAY SOUND, OF ALWAYS BEING ON THE CUTTING EDGE. WHETHER IT APPEALS TO YOU OR NOT, SOME FRAGMENT GERMINATED AT THESE SHOWS, WILL MAKE ITS WAY INTO MAINSTREAM DESIGN.
At this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) there was something for everyone; furniture, lighting, and accessories. Established design houses showcased their ideas alongside a plethora of emerging artists, in many cases fresh from university.
This year, among established designers, particularly European ones, we can expect to see sleek, sexy, low-slung couches finished with sensual curves; morphing from hard to soft, very enticing in a sensual way. Italian design house Edra may have indulged in its fantasies with some of its designs, but they do lure you in, invite you to sit down, and then entrance you with their cleverness -the swirl-shaped 'Flap' sofa with individually adjustable back; a crinkley leather 'Sponge' arm chair that ages into a classic. Everything seems to be a little more luxurious, indulgent and '" sexy. Rugs made of incredibly soft alpaca, or silk and wool; Swarovski crystals embellishing accessories. At ICFF, Swarovski displayed murals, dotted with crystals, that cast a soft glow, twinkling when the lights are low and atmosphere is the intention. Chandeliers resemble more ice covered branches than light source; lyrical and light of hand. Flou continues to excel at producing fine Italian linens. It has introduced a soft tufted weave in its new line of bedspreads and injected a little novelty into classic design with 'Poem' - bed linen inscribed with words from literary classics. With the expertise of 30 years in the business - even producing its own mattresses - its convertible couch is a dream to sit on, not to mention sleep, and subscribes to this sensuous trend of morphing designs, where bed frames are not rigid lines but continue on and curve into upholstered shapes. Colours this season follow fashion trends in Milan, soft grey and violet, shades of cream; sophisticated and inviting.
If the ICFF is any indication, there appear to be two camps in our current design world. Established European designers continue to produce beautifully executed design, with a masterful hand in terms of colour, material and workmanship, creating a sense of luxury, while young designers, particularly young Americans, are experimenting with bright colours and taking sustainability to heart. Sustainable materials, eco-friendly, end-of-life issues for furniture, recycling, biodegradable; these are the American buzz words. Perhaps it is a reflection of the economic climate and the state of mind in America. We are seeing designers emerging from unlikely places, like Kansas and Colorado, areas of the country that deal first hand with environmental issues. Another theory being bandied about, albeit sotto voce, is that Americans have embraced sustainability because they are suffering from a guilty conscience. For years America has been a disposable, throw-away society. Unlike Europeans, Americans do not have a heritage that goes back centuries, and the tradition of collecting, preserving, is still a relatively new concept.
These efforts in creating socially conscious furniture appear to be baby steps, not always at the refined level of execution as their European counterparts, or at least not yet. But there is an enthusiasm that needs to be applauded. Small quantities of exotic wood combined with stainless steel in very sleek, clean designs, a mixture of hard versus soft, organic materials like rattan, abaca and bamboo, shapes derived from nature, lamp shades and screens punched out of wood veneer in patterns that create a flattering fragmented light, experimentation with single welding and simple construction - this is what is emerging from the new generation of designers. Expect to see chairs upholstered with leather that has been coloured using vegetable dyes not chemicals, combined with recyclable stainless steel or highly polished aluminium rather than heavy metals or production methods that emit gases into the environment.
Yale School of Architecture presented an exquisite line of chairs created by students under the direction of designer Massimo Scolari, which displayed a consciousness that went beyond beauty and environmental issues. One chair, inspired by ancient Egyptian culture, has a carbon fibre seat designed to conform to the human body - an ingenious combination of ancient and ultra modern.
There also appears to be a resurgence of Asian-based designers, such as Filipino Kenneth Cobonpue, who are instilled with a French sensibility and inspired by the widely available natural materials of their countries. These two influences were particularly evident in the outdoor furniture on show at the Philippine Design exhibit - pieces which have a rhythm of their own, flowing organically into forms suggested by the natural materials of which they are made. The ICFF gave us, from a design perspective, a look at who we are today and a peek into what we can become in our future ... it's not such a bad view. Grace Trofa
ANDREW MUGGLETON
SHOWN FOR THE FIRST TIME AT ICFF, ANDREW MUGGLETON DESIGNS INNOVATIVE, HIGH QUALl1Y MODERN FURNITURE BY BENDING AND SHAPING EXOTIC WOODS AND BLENDING THEM WITH OTHER MATERIALS SUCH AS METAL AND GLASS. THE LOOK OF AIR-BRUSHED STAINLESS STEEL IS SOFTENED WITH THE USE OF LEATHER IN NATURAL SHADES. MACASSAR EBONY IS BOOK MATCHED SO THAT THE PATTERN OF THE GRAIN FLOWS AROUND THE PIECE. TABLES WITHOUT TRADITIONAL LEGS OR JOINEY ARE BOTH SCULPTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL. FORMERLY A DESIGN ENGINEER FOR FORD IN LONDON, HE MOVED TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO EIGHT YEARS AGO TO PURSUE HIS PASSION AND CREATE CLASSIC YET CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE.