Li Edelkoort today is considered the most famous trendsetter on the planet, but it is somewhat different – this Dutch does not create trends of the future in the literal sense of the word, but rather foresees them, and on this basis develops product concepts for world-famous brands. Twenty years ago, she turned it, at first glance, not too serious occupation in the profession, and today, according to the magazine “Time”, is considered one of the twenty-five most influential people in the world of design.
Trends of the future: the unbearable lightness of being
Perhaps the most important trends of the future, as Li Edelkoort believes, is the ease and even weightlessness, which are manifested not only in design and technology but also in the sociocultural processes of the present day in general. In support of her thesis, Li Edelkoort became a curator of the exhibition “Creating Lightness”, which took place not so long ago in the famous Basel art gallery “Graf & Schelble”, where these trends of the future were presented.
I must say that the choice of place and time was not at all random – the fact is that the well-known trendsetter cooperated with the Swiss brand Rado, which specializes in manufacturing watches made of high-tech ceramics. Models from the new collection – modern and light thanks to the material used – she introduced into the context of world design.
According to Li Edelkoort, “Rado watches are simple, serene and soothing, created for individuality, and not for the mass consumer, giving the sensation of surprising ease. Each of their details, from delicate dials to flowing silhouettes, is filled with emotions, brought to the fundamental purity, quiet, almost intangible whispers of time. ”
Especially for the exhibition, Li Edelkoort selected objects that somehow confirm that the trends of the future are, first of all, the concept of ease.
Among them, Rossa Lovegrove’s Diatom chair, made for Moroso of pressed aluminum by technology borrowed from the automotive industry, the porcelain lamp Crease designed by Simon Nauri for the French factory Triode, the Monstera pot of the Dutch designer Tim van de Verd And the innovative bench “CBench” by the Belgian Peter Donders.
This bench is made of a solid carbon fiber tape wrapped around the mold: the template was subsequently removed and an airy one was produced, while a sturdy construction – the designer calls this method of production “calligraphy in 3D”.
According to the trendsetter, this “weightlessness” is embodied in the white color and transparency of glass, in new technological methods of furniture production (from casting to 3D printing), in plastic and paper, giving volume, but not weight, in fibers that seem to float on Air.
Li’s theoretical reasoning is confirmed by the facilities created by the Bureau Formafantasma, Nendo and YOY, Patrick Jouin, Ross Lovegrove, Tokugin Yoshioka, and the Front studio.
