The cultural clash between East and West during World War I in the Middle East inspires Les Hommes for Spring-Summer 2010. The movie that better depicts this theme and the epic atmosphere of that period is LAWRENCE OF ARABIA: the almost mystic experience of entering the desert and being transformed and deeply affected by the influence of local tribes – yet holding strongly onto western colonial traditions – gives shape to this collection.
Outfits are a perfectly balanced synthesis of clothes stolen from tribal cultures and key items from a western male wardrobe. Trousers volumes – super wide – are enhanced by fluid, shiny fabrics. Jackets and light over coats are oversized, and rich in military details, whereas materials recall ethnic accents. A series of T-shirts – as well as the 3 women’s silhouettes hitting the runway - are reminiscent of the traditional wrapping technique of Beduin tribes. The uniforms of western troops inspire the new suits, with their extra slim proportions, as well as the colour palette, that seems to include uncountable shades of beige.
Silhouettes are always monochrome, in respect of the military “dress code”; shades go from sand to taupe, with touches of black, to recreate, even through colours, the desert environment. Unusual combinations of materials: silk, soft suede and extra light nylon are used for finishings and details. Modern materials combined with ethnic or historical inspirations contribute to define the “modern nostalgic” mood that embodies Les Hommes style.
For Spring-Summer 2010 Masataka Matsumura – Giuliano Fujiwara’s creative director - draws inspiration from current time; in reaction to crisis and global recession the key word, around which the new collection is conceived, is “concreteness”. The overall image, therefore, will be strong and masculine, with several military details, and extremely clean.
Silhouettes are geometric, rigorous at times, but more often details and colours break them. Zips, cuts, multiple layers and slashes are all used to create a dynamic effect. Neutral or dark shades – such as pearl grey, taupe, black – are mixed with a flow of strong, primary colours: acid yellow, cherry red, electric blue.
Proportions often go oversize: T-shirts – at times worn inside-out - jackets and shorts, a key item of the collection, they all look loose and comfortable. Materials are extremely light - even at touch - and natural, but they often undergo innovative technological treatments.
Once again accessories play a relevant role. Sneakers in bright colours that paint also the thick rubber soles, sporty nubuk laced up shoes and ankle boots and shiny black leather laced up styles, to add a touch of formal elegance to casual outfits.
the Way Sensing GO + consists of two parts, a workshop and an installation from the outcome. The concept of this piece is building a digital version of The Way Things Go (Peter Fischli and David Weiss, 1987) assembling a chain of electric modules which has both input and output.
This time, the piece, entitled the Way Sensing Go + , will incorporate not only devices and sensors but also animations and films into the chain. For example, if a light bulb lightened up a monitor, flowers would bloom in movie.
4nchor5 la6 will hold a workshop open for public at Clear Gallery in Tokyo for making the modules, which are exhibiting for Kids Programme at NTT Intercommunication Centre from 11th July. The dates for the workshops are set to 27th sat July 13:00-21:00 and 28th sun July 13:00-21:00.
Maybe a bit late but here is a short film my company Designboost made during the MiniBoost at the Milan Design Week. We also made thirteen interviews with top international designers. Seven of them are released so far (you can see two of theme here and here).
Furniture made for children are ether small versions of furniture for adults, or they tend to have strong colours and crazy shapes that leaves little space for imagination. These different design categories became the starting point for a new furniture concept. The aim for Please design was to create furniture that could work in a space that adults and children share while keeping a playful spirit. Giving the furniture strong characters without being gender orientated.
MyAnimo bench and A4 screen wall are lightweight furniture for children from 3 to 6 years old. They are inspired by the way children see the world. MyAnimo’s abstract shape wants to encourage imagination and can be a hippo as well as a cave. They can be connected together to create a longer curved bench or a tunnel.
A4 screen wall has got it’s name and proportions from a standard paper. The different cuts gives a playful expression and makes them easier to carry. The screen wall can give privacy for bedtime stories or become a house or a fort during play.
The felt is a good sound absorbent and has a warm tactile feeling. The material is mouldable polyester made from recycled PET. Both A4 and MyAnimo can be stacked tightly and take little space when stored away.
As a part of the concept a kids book was developed together with illustrator Ingrid Wållgren. The book tells the story about MyAnimo and A4 and encourage children and adults to recycle PET bottles.
Of the many new estates at Copenhagen Harbour, Havneholmen by architect Lene Tranberg from Lundgaard & Tranberg is one of the most interesting. Located on an island at the entrance to the harbour - just opposite Fisketorvet and with a walkway to Islands Brygge.
The project builds upon an urban plan that transforms a former industrial area to a modern, integrated residential and business zone, taking better advantage of the harbour front location. The project consists of 236 apartments in two U-shaped blocks with inner courtyards opening towards the harbour.
Varying heights of 5 to 8 storeys visually reduce the scale of the project and, along with the thin proportions of the glass partitions, give the white facades a light and graceful appearance. The entire project, including the projecting bays, is rendered in warm white stucco with teak fenestration, giving the entire project a maritime feel.
Swedish experimental design group APOCALYPSE presented four new products made from materials with history at the DMY design festival in Berlin last week.
The Pot and Shelf Torso uses a few of the 360 million tires consumed yearly in the EU. As pots and shelves, the tires get a new life. The material is made by granulated tires ground into a powder which is mixed with recycled plastic. The binding is reinforced with a patented molecule. More than 95 % of the content is made from recycled materials and it can be recycled over and over.
The Lamp Blob is made from start clumps from the plastic industry. In order to adjust the the machinery some of the melted plastic becomes waste and is by APOCALYPSE given a second life as lamps.
The Parquet Multicolour Herringbone is also made from recycled car tires and plastic packages. This new version comes in five different colours.
The Soap Original and Perfume is made of reused cooking oil from falafel kitchens. The Soap is redefining the concept of luxury and questioning animal and other dubious cosmetic ingredients. The Soap Original is neither perfumed nor coloured and has a light old-fashioned soap scent thanks to the saponification process. The Soap Perfume is scented with our own organic perfume Ultra Fresh Bakery Bouquet.
UFO (Unidentified Feeding Object) is a mono-use disposable plate designed by Andrea Ruggiero for InDisposed – an exhibition which invited designers to address notions of disposability in everyday products. Lightweight and rigid, UFO is designed to to be used at picnics, garden parties, beach parties or barbeques and disposed of by launching it into the bushes – exactly like a frisbee. Upon impact, the plates break into smaller pieces and then serve to feed birds, squirrels or rodents, referencing the waste=food principle. The very act of launching the plate makes its disposal shameless and fun (a cross between an olympic discus event and a Greek wedding) and the impact of the plate becomes a necessary component of the process. In Italian, such mono-use objects are referred to as “usa e getta” or literally, “use and throw” in English. Though semantically disturbing, this was the inspiration behind the UFO concept. UFO is made of a unique composite of blended bird seed, potato starch, guar gum, and a seaweed-like binding agent. The plates are highly resistant to wet foods, vinegars and sauces, yet completely biodegradable, non-toxic, and vegan.
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