Pattern Pulp

Street Finds: Window Trends




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Manhattan is home to some wonderful stores with even more magnificent window displays.  Designers often plan these fantastical arrangements months in advance, while visual teams work round the clock to get each window looking perfect, all in an attempt to lure customers off the street and into their stores.  While these displays double as public art for some, others follow these commercial relics quite religiously.  Here at Pattern Pulp, we’re fervent observers, and so we’ve begun photographing displays around the city, hoping to connect the dots whenever relevant themes and stories emerge.

And so, our first window round up:

Linear Stripes:

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One of the most notable trends this season appears to be the continued use of bold color.  Be it a clothing rainbow or carefully aligned fixture spectrum, stores like The Gap, Anthropologie and J.Crew are doing more with less to showcase their stock in the most budget savvy ways.

Flat Color:

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Materials range from flat and printed (the norm) to tangible and tactile, as evident at The Gap, Henry Bendel and Kate Spade.

White Birds:

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White birds keep popping up, evocative of the peaceful dove, oragami structures and, of course, the beach – it is summer time, after all. Pictured above, Levis, BCBG and Kate’s Paperie.

Found Objects:

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Found objects also reign supreme: hangers, bags, scraps of fabric – the very products being sold are being rendered as part of the “art,” as opposed to a blatant “here’s the shirt: buy me.” Pictured above, we have Barneys and Anthropologie, Gucci and Prada.

Warholian Photorealism:

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We also love the Warholian photorealism of Diesel and French Connection – they seem to be tapping a trend that has continued to infiltrate a variety of markets.

Coverage by: Emily Gup

Trend: Geometric Shards




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A new story is like a growing crystal. It is comprised of shards representing various emotions, such as happiness, sadness, fear and love. With each crystal comes a chain of past experiences, and, because each occurrence is defined by a series of emotions, this chain is colored by a prism of external events and relationships.  If all instances are built upon one another, then everyone’s story is uniquely different- a new jumble of people, places, and things.  This concept is quite literally defined by Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 09 collection, as his kaleidoscopic patterns bring angular definition to the human body.  In the graphic world, Simon Page, an artist from the UK, has devised a series of stunning posters entitled, Cuben.  Each layout plays with hexagons, transparency and light to create space-like moods, the foundation for life’s geometric fabric.

Additional contributions by: Kelsey-Lee LeGassick

Fashion: Summer Screenshots




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Nothing signifies the start of summer more than an exposed screen.  While spring has come and gone (or so it seems), screen-inspired imagery continues to pop up throughout the marketplace, revealing that moods often relax when temperatures rise. “Screens are good for your spirit, they allow you to smell summer while sitting inside your apartment,” says Michelle Lawson, a Greenpoint artist and resident.  From the textured cover art of Anthropologie’s March catalog to this sheer needle point skirt we spotted at Mojo last week, both applications signify human interaction with this stiff window barrier.  Moving past literal translations, this Chanel suit, which was photographed for Bergdorf Goodman’s summer catalog, glorifies the concept of the grid, proving that trends can inspire and transcend all price points.

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Matthew Tischler reveals the softer side of this fashion trend with his photography collection entitled, Screen Series.  Blurring reality with both wet and dry screens, his images are divided, pixelated, and filtered.  Subjects and figures are broken apart and reconstructed in such a way that they are both integrated into their environment and isolated within it.

Quick Links: Weekly Notables




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1.  Color inspiration from Latvian periodical Juaná Gaita, via Colourlovers.

2.  Got a bunch of killer wallpaper samples?  Here’s a great DIY way to use them, via CraftyNest.

3.  Brazillian illustrator, Guilherme Marconi’s work is both vibrant and intricate, via Abduzeedo.

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4.  Jay Pluck’s hand-painted wallpaper, via Wilson Art.

5.  Julianna Bright incorporates patterns into her lovely storybook style artwork, via Modish.

6. Rex Design gives the Saraiva Classics’ book collection a face lift, modernizing them with vector art, via Design Boom.

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7.  A decorative collection of Electra bicycles, via If its hip its here.

8.  Flynn Talbot’s interactive “horizon” light wall installation, via Design Boom.

9.  Sweet fabric wall decals by Mae, via Decor8.

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10.  A sneak-peak at some of the offerings at this weekend’s Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, via Poppy Talk.

11.  A clock that tells the time in stars, via Yanko Design.

12.  Mini Modern’s new stationary line in their signature prints, via Print Pattern.

Compiled by: Emily Gup

Trend: Butterfly Beauties




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Pairing these two images side by side seems almost sacrilegious, however, we’d be fooling ourselves, and our readers, if we ignored the obvious artistic similarities between these paralleling layouts.  Butterflies signify many things, depending on what part of the world you come from.  In the image on the left (artist unknown), the colors are muted, though blue and bone read as vibrantly as the disturbing subject matter.  On the right, Heidi Klum, one of media’s (and fashion’s) most recognizable faces, endorses the LGRumor 2 phone, conveying that butterflies are an extension of her personality.  Regardless of the metamorphosis stage a butterfly (or a person, for that matter) is at, moods relaying youth, renewal, death and timelessnes can all be applied when considering this colorful, fluttering, insect.

Service: Microtrending with Pattern Pulp




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Pattern Pulp recently gave a microtrending presentation for the design team at Revman International.  Revman is a bedding manufacturer who licenses brands ranging from Marimekko and Steve Madden to Michael Kors and Tommy Bahama.  While we’re no stranger to the Home Department, it was a true pleasure to get out from behind the desk and share some of our latest findings.  It’s affirming to know that we can help designers and firms connect the dots from inspiration to commercial application.

Interested in a practical approach to dot-connecting? Contact us to have Pattern Pulp work with your team.

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