RENEWED ROMANTICS 2.
INTRODUCTION.
Renewed Romanticism is back for more. Last month’s blog took us on a journey through individual expression, unbridled nature, and off-kilter classicism. This month we take those concepts a step closer to reality through a mood board. Once again, this adaptation proved more an inquiry than an answer to what this movement means in the real world.
In translating our illustrated environment to real objects, we grew captivated with the way people view the life cycle from bloom to decay. For so long, we as a society seemed to take comfort in the expected parts of the process and disregard the obscure. One might think this mindset would amplify in a time of turmoil, however, we see a poetic counterargument emerging. In a time when everything we thought we knew has gone out the window, is it actually more natural to fear what seems obvious and revere the mysterious?
This question inspired our exploration for the month. Each sliver below represents a unique approach to hidden beauty through the lens of three stages: birth, life and death. From anticipation to restraint to remnants, why are we allured by the tension of the unknown?
CONCEPT 1: ANTICIPATION
INSPIRATIONAL STAGE: BIRTH
In a world of immediate and unlimited visuals, the “Anticipation” concept celebrates that which can’t be seen. It seeks beauty in what lies beneath, the elements that have not yet emerged from obscurity. The possibility of hidden beauty is what makes it so beautiful. This theme celebrates opaque layers, discoverable details, and forms that “break ground” or surfaces. Though beauty is all around us, this concept lives for the cues that hint at more.
IN THE WORLD: INTERIORS AND ATTIRE
Within design we turn to glass, in particular frosted glass, as the perfect example of beauty hidden in plain sight. A material known for its clarity is immediately distorted into a private, mysterious barricade with the simple addition of a texture. This concept of obstruction through finish and material continues in other facets of design. We see it in bleached finishes, layered textiles, and even in the above twist on fiber weaves, this time done concrete. What was once a breathable surface becomes a solid wall through one material change. However, equally interesting as the creation of a barrier is the destruction of one. Whether done through petals piercing the plane of a hand carved rug à la The Rug Company or the legs of Taracea’s table bursting through its top, the tension created between a surface and its underlying activity is undeniably beautiful.
CONCEPT 2: RESTRAINT
INSPIRATIONAL STAGE: LIFE
With the proliferation of social media comes not only an ability but a pressure to share. The “Restraint” concept begs the question: how much can be revealed and still incite wonder? For it is in the bits left out, the unspoken thoughts between the lines, that unrefined beauty resides. This concept uses bound forms, veiled partitions, and oversized silhouettes to challenge our expectations of what exists naturally, what has been manufactured, and what is left unknown.
IN THE WORLD: INTERIORS AND ATTIRE
If “Anticipation” is frosted glass, “Restraint” would be reeded. What was once a clean, clear material is worked into a decorative shape to distort and reveal what lies behind in strategic ways. Similarly, Holly Hunt’s Rajah wall covering employs surface embellishments, this time in the form of fiber “eyelashes,” to skew the surface. This type of manipulation continues across the design industry, not only through elements that mark but also ones that tether, cinch and harness their forms. For instance, CB2’s Brace chair uses flashy metal cages to bind the bulbous shape that sits within. Taking this a step further into fashion and we see Any Parx’s AI sheer, billowing garments bound at the calf to carefully alter the transparency of the textile, uncovering only as much as the designer intended.
CONCEPT 3: REMNANTS
INSPIRATIONAL STAGE: DEATH
With the wealth of tech at our fingertips, it can feel as though no moment goes undocumented. The “Remnants” concept zeroes in on the stories lost to time, the ones that have evaded documentation. It elevates the visual marks left behind to the status of intrigue, lore, and ultimately beauty. “Remnants” honors disguised luxury, elevated imperfections, and living finishes. The gaps in knowledge are where beauty resides.
IN THE WORLD: INTERIORS AND ATTIRE
If “Anticipation” is frost and “Restraint” is reeded, “Remnants” must be antiqued mirror. Just as our present reflects our past, a mirror is intended to reflect its surroundings. However, with the addition of distress and antique, and that reflection grows cloudy and muddled. The story behind that destruction, or the creation of perceived destruction, is becoming ever popular across the whole of design. Take Bessa’s marble block for instance. What is otherwise a pristine slab of material is ruined and repaired, the brass-clad nicks becoming its focal points. In other ways, this concept comes to life through a finish rather than a form such as charred shou sugi ban walls. The concept even carries over into the classical visual storytelling practice of mosaics, however in this renaissance it isn’t the picture that draws interest but rather the history each tile had before it found its way here. Whatever the approach, the idea that these objects lived a life before, one we can only imagine, is pure beauty.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Where do you see beauty in the cycle of life? Join the conversation and stay tuned for the application of these concepts in our current projects.