Over the weekend, I had the good fortune of escaping the cold wet city for Miami.  In between bouts of beach and people watching, I popped into the shops along Collins Ave to see if South Beach had more to offer than bedazzled Ed Hardy paraphernalia.  As predicted, Barney’s quenched my thirst for innovation.  I was astonished by the simple lighting solution that brightened the entire menswear floor.  “People will come from all over to visit the store, so we definitely wanted elements of memorability and surprise,” said Kent Wells, Director of Retail Planning and Design for RGLA .  Relying on new and creative ways to use utilitarian objects, Barney’s Miami CO-OP combined a mix of materials, fixturing systems and artisan objects to create an eclectic store environment, with an emphasis on wacky and fun.

Speaking of wacky and fun, linear jumbles can be found across creative platforms in the homegoods, fashion and art worlds.  Åsa Dahlbäck, a Pattern Pulp favorite and recent interviewee, designed this vertically frenzied wallpaper from her studio in Sweden.  Each moving cluster is reminiscent of the motercycle traffic I experienced while traveling throughout South East Asia a few years ago- a snapshot of moving chaos. Lily Raskind, the founder and lead creative of Sunshine & Shadow, showcases boldly understated pieces in her Spring/Summer ’09 collection by combining feminine and masculine details.  At a quick glance, Raskind’s textiles look like an abstract version of pick-up-sticks.  Using color and line to create a maze of texture, Jasper Johns adds historical relevance to this trend in his untitled Lithograph from 1972, a work that’s currently on display at the MoMA.