Fashion and design have shared a devotion for each other from time immemorial: just think of British upholstery that went so perfectly well with the floral dresses of ladies to the point that they almost blended in with the house or – more recently – the bucolic attire with a Gingham print perfectly

matched with the tablecloth used for countryside picnics.

Even at the time – in an era when trends lasted years and you only chose your furniture once in a lifetime – one world influenced the other, offering the same patterns, fabrics and shapes to bedeck yourself and your house, an all-round way of stating your taste and style.
Nowadays, with globalisation and the advent of the internet, everything happens at a far quicker pace. Indeed, the calendar year of fashion is no longer based on spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons. Instead we have numerous micro-trends (more than 20 per year) that inexorably lead to a faster change of wardrobe… So how can design (a certainly slower market) keep in step with the wonderful world of fashion?
Luckily, among the many trends that start and end at the same speed of strobe lights, some are more enduring than others, which enables the world of design to reinterpret them and make them appealing for our living areas.

Plissé

Plissé is clearly a fitting example of how much the craftsmanship behind certain fabrics can be perfectly reinterpreted in the design and home furnishings sector, including electrical appliances! Just think of the wonderful kettle with a plissé effect by Alessi.

Twenties-style fringes

With the comeback of the 1920s style, fringes – a distinguishing feature of the wonderful dresses of Charleston dancers – are back too and have made their way through the world of padded items (especially ottomans and armchairs) and, unexpectedly, in some lighting solutions as well.

Twenties-style fringes

With the comeback of the 1920s style, fringes – a distinguishing feature of the wonderful dresses of Charleston dancers – are back too and have made their way through the world of padded items (especially ottomans and armchairs) and, unexpectedly, in some lighting solutions as well.

Terrazzo

Lastly, how can we fail to mention the pattern that has conquered every single sector, stationery included? The Venetian terrazzo has gone from being a trendy way of covering floors and walls, like the Vendome by Santamargherita, to being the perfect pattern for furnishings and accessories: it is the star of the collection of exercise books and stationery called Daily Fiction by Normann Copenhagen, of decorative ceramics and – obviously – of the ready-to-wear collections of big fashion retailers.

However, this language shared by both fashion and design should not be regarded as a merely aesthetic quirk, but a perfect handbook to interpret society and study its new habits: for instance, the ‘natural’ and environmentally-sustainable trend we have observed recently in interior design, goes hand in hand with a new awareness in the world of fashion as well, favouring clothes with natural materials and earthy colours… A renewed attention for the environment and environmental sustainability that will certainly influence our choices in all sectors.

All we have to do is discover which future trend will take our wardrobe and our homes by storm!

La tazzina blu