MICRO-INDULGING: THE NEW SURREALISM
SURREALISM’S COLORFUL HISTORY
The world feels unreal. From the wholesome trickery of ‘Is It Cake?’ to the exploitative deceit of deepfakes, it is increasingly difficult to know what to believe. That uncertainty could feel scary. Instead of running from the ambiguity, what would happen if we embraced it?
We see just that happening across the globe. Trompe l’oeil fashions, illusionist foods and deceptive designs tackle the unknown with a sense of hope and humor. As we put the pieces together, all signs point to a new wave of surrealism.
We know what you’re thinking: Surrealism? For the 20s? Groundbreaking. Hear us out though. The 1920s were a period of rapid technological progress from radios to refrigerators and televisions to instant cameras. In the right hands, these tools went beyond documentation or preservation, and into creation. Artists experimented with new media to blur the lines between real life and unconscious thought, presenting back a society consumed with imaginative indulgence.
Today, as we navigate social platforms, VR, AI, and more, we can’t help but look back a century for guidance and inspiration. Whether it is a vintage circus or an iconic French salon, 1920s artistry serves as a jumping off point for imagining the late 2020s. This time though, we consider extravagance through a more conscious lens. Colors, materials, forms and patterns act as tools to trick the eye and elevate the mundane, creating an illusion of opulence without all the waste.
It is all about perception… because at the end of the day, what is real? And what does it matter?
We welcome you to explore the trend of micro-indulging with us. From palettes to mood boards and sketches to specs, we’ll be tracing the origins and impacts of surrealism on the future of design. Today we begin with our personal favorite topic: color.
GREEN’S GRUESOME GENESIS
These days, green might conjure up images of luck, money, innocence, or nature. Go back a few centuries, though, and deadly would top that list. In 1775, chemist Carl Scheele concocted an artificial color that mimicked the vivid green of nature, a feat that may feel banal today, but was revolutionary to a smog-filled London that craved the flora and fauna of a lost provincial life. With this invention, he also inadvertently invented the most sought after poison on the market. Despite warning the masses of the color’s arsenic-fueled issues, Scheele’s Green became wildly popular with the stylish set and turned garments, wallpapers and faux florals into lethal substances. People were, quite literally, dying to be in fashion.
Over time, folks tired of the hue and its toxic side effects. Vibrant greens fell off the radar until the turn of the 20th century welcomed a (mildly) healthier formula, and with it a new green boom. From Magritte’s apples to Gatsby’s light and Cartier’s emeralds, the color dominated the 1920s.
100 years later, green is back in the cultural conversation. While nature will always be a source of its appeal, food and technology are the unsung heroes of green’s renaissance this time around. For the past two decades, social media and food have fueled each other’s popularity. Of the many colors that have benefitted from the collab’s warm glow, none has taken to the spotlight quite like green; and it all began with a simple bowl.
GREEN’S 21ST CENTURY PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
What does a new wave of surrealism mean for the future of green? To imagine the future, we must first examine the (more recent) past. Tracking a color over multiple decades illuminates a pattern in its evolution which helps us foresee its future. So, let’s go back in time to the sordid history of an unsuspecting color.
The Past, 2010: the days of Beyond Meat, Whole 30 and Instagram. Just Salad and Sweetgreen led the charge in salad bowls, a perfect vehicle for the time’s parallel trends of personalization and healthful eating. Instagram’s introduction further fueled its growth by offering an outlet to display/virtue signal every expertly arranged ingredient. Salads turned the platform into a sea of kale, avocado and green goddess dressing. Lush, leafy green solidified its place in 2010s canon.
1. Proenza Schouler 2. Apple 3. Rolex 4. Lanvin 5. Rimowa
The Present, 2020: an era of Bonbon, Ozempic and Tik Tok. Candy shops like Lil’ Sweet Treat and Bonbon bring together twin trends of nostalgia and globalism through collections of international gummies. Tik Tok store visits create further stir around the confections, with influences praising how dainty, affordable, and complex in flavor they are as compared to chocolates or pastries of the past. The app is a rainbow of sugared pastels, with fresh mint gaining particular interest as a poster child for the gummies’ iconic sweet and sour profile.
1. Ami 2. Acne 3. Smeg 4. CND 5. Bottega Veneta
The Future, 2030: a world of Geem, pro-protein, and AI. Geem and GoodSAM blur the line between snack and meal with their savory bites, perfectly capturing the tandem trends of experience and comfort. At the same time, AI’s limitless and lawless suggestions will free people from the constraints of traditional dining, offering recipes that utilize snacks to craft meal-light dishes that highlight recognizable yet surprising flavors and textures. The end result will be a table of no fewer than 10 petite plates consisting of olive dips, seaweed sides, and pickled desserts that embrace in a bitter brown-green palette.
1. Victorinox 2. Frame 3. Chloe 4. Loewe 5. Loewe
And after the 2030s? As the chapter of blue-tinged greens comes to a close, we wonder if this spells the end of edible-looking greens altogether. After fresh leaves, sugared candies, and finally fermented pickles, is the next logical step a green so laden with yellow that it appears spoiled rotten? Dare we even say, poisonous? Step aside Scheele, we’ve got a new deadly green. 2040 is a long way away, though. Only time will tell. In the meantime, you can tell us what you predict in the comments below.