Pattern Pulp

Trend: Wound Up in Stitches




We’ve seen string used in design for a while now, though our interest was piqued earlier this year from the showings at both the Milan Furniture fair and ICFF. The woven trend, exemplified in these furniture examples, incorporates string and modern uses of embroidery with traditional weaving techniques. The results are an interesting homage to a time honored craft reminding us of all things cozy – warm sweaters and bulky blankets in a world where life feels more often chaotic.

Donna Wilson has teamed up with furniture company Ercol to create her one-off wound and wrapped pieces, contrasting the hard wood with the softness and comfort of the wool. Susanne Westphal’s two chairs – Stitch and Wooly – are a part of her final graduate project “The Discovery of Slowness” at the University of Art and Design Burg Gibiechenstein. Both pieces invite the sitter to take part in the chair’s creation by unraveling the yarn from “Wooly” and feeding it through the holes of “Stitch,” thus creating a unique design. This whole process forces the sitter to slow down, unwind and de-accelerate from their hectic life and observe how each chair becomes more comfortable and attractive with time and attention.

Imagery via All the Mountains & Design Milk.

Coverage by: Emily Gup

 

Trend: Transcendent Bookshelves




Remember the amazing work of Deborah Bowness? Her bookshelf wallpaper made the rounds near and far a few years ago. Fast forward and we have literary dilemma on own hands. Hard cover books are quickly becoming romanticized objects as digital platforms such as the Kindle and iPad become preferred methods for consumption.

As a result, artist are reacting. Zero Maria Cornejo‘s current Fall collection incorporates a bookshelf as a print in her Fall collection. Using hardcover spines to create sculpture, Miler Lagos‘ latest exhibition, Home, reveals an igloo comprised of a defunct US Navy library. The foreign language dictionaries, medical reference series, geographical studies and psychology volumes create the igloo, which, to the Eskimos, symbolizes a place where knowledge is transferred from generation to generation.

 

Trend: Confining Soft Geometrics




Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I’m very passionate about technology in the print, pattern and color departments. As much as I love documenting the internet’s future unfold from a visual point of view, I also love finding organic solutions to daily design dilemmas.

This leads me to today’s feature on soft geometrics. Rough-cut collages have been popping up all over ffffound and Pinterest filling mood boards and music posters for over a year now- it was but a matter of time before artists and designers started applying a commercial hand, reinterpreting their voice through this jagged aesthetic.

Cynthia Rowley’s current Fall collection reminds me of a God’s eye craft project, it also looks like a texturized version of my old portfolio site, Pixel Rumor. Ana Montiel‘s most recent collaboration with Nina Ricci reveals a stunning work in progress of diamond-cut shards, texturized into the shape of a heart. Proving the iPad can serve as a canvas, paintbrush and scissors, Nathalie Chikhi has created a series of digital designs. All beautiful, inspiring and infused with a feminine hand.

 

Fashion Week: Steven Alan




Color blocked palettes, playful patterns and a cool subdued backdrop were all in play at Steven Alan’s Spring 2012 showcase this morning.

While a majority of the crowd wore black to usher in the beginning of Fall, the models presented combinations of citrus, aqua and khaki hues.

Utilizing classic shapes and minimal accents, bold color and all-over pattern was abundant throughout. The show opened with a black and white suit, a bold, wearable, tailored statement.

Proving pattern can descend gender, this seashell design translated beautifully on cotton as much as it did on silk.

 

Trend: Patterns & Silhouettes




The human silhouette is a timeless design staple with universal power to carry any message. One of the most notable campaigns of this decade, Apple’s 2003 ipod campaign, kicked off years of creative experimentation and imitation. The above examples translate this beautifully in photography, print and product design. Incorporating texture, the mood is set with (1) a military inspired spread, (2) atmospheric fashion styling for Another Magazine, (3) a self portrait, (4) a hybrid book cover and a (5) pattern-blocked Michael Kor’s swimsuit.

 

Retail: Homemade Dummy Dolls




When it comes to retail display design, I’m a huge fan of the homemade variety. After observing numerous stores in different pockets of the world, it’s safe to say I’ve seen a lot of stuffed dolls. Grotesque, pretty, sock-like, they’re everywhere, challenging the perfect beauty of their mannequin counterparts.

Here are three favorites. The blue and white blinking patient is from an indie shop in Shoreditch, on the east end of London. The inside-out doll with suspended guts is  from Dagmar Rousset’s shop on Fitzroy Street in Melbourne, Australia.

Using irony and curves to sell perfume, this lumpy lingerie model kills it in Milan.

 

Tracking Repetitive + Awesome.
On Instagram.