We live in a society where one is assessed and arbitrated by the overall appearance of an individual. Similarly, nowadays, people also look over and follow trends to make their homes as fashionable and luxurious as possible. Interior and furniture trends have gained as much notoriety as fashion in the current times. But, is it possible that the two have a collegial connection with each other?
Before addressing this enigma, let us take a moment to understand what fashion and furniture exactly mean. Style or fashion is associated with aesthetics and character in various contexts such as clothing, footwear, makeup, hairstyle, etc. It defines a trend or a pattern and moulds objects into elegant usable, and wearable forms.
Designing furniture is a specific artistic practice that livens up an interior space. Furniture items like sofas, armchairs, wardrobes, side tables or bed sets are not only functionally distinguished; they add a personal quality and character of the inhabitants residing. Pieces of furniture also change with varying cultural and historical periods. Some furniture styles popularly evolve with time, and some become obsolete.
It is evident that both furniture and fashion act as the attractive focal points, for a building and a human, respectively. Fashion and furniture are two threads of the same cloth, intertwined and influential to each other in several ways because both emerge through the needs and requirements of the living.
According to Mariana Kero, an interior decorator, many specifics of colour, pattern, material, and layout manifested in furniture designing that the world is conversant with stems from the fashion movements one grasps. The trends that have outgrown from fashion are velvets, metallics, and florals. We all know, velvets convey nothing less than an extravagance, a decadence, and grace of time. Velvets are applied to accentuate a rich aesthetic. These days, velvet has become a famous textile, used as upholstery for sofas, armchairs, and sometimes even bedcovers and rugs.
The following paradigm suggests that the connection between fashion and furniture, or interior designing as a whole, is captivating. The two share a similar backdrop of selecting colours and fabrics, studying blooming trends, sketching, and designing. Composing any piece of furniture is like an experiment; the designer derives a concept, keeping in mind its surroundings.
Not only that, but they also combine the shape, form, colour, and material in a way that describes the inner capacities of its residents. The story of designing an item of cloth is an equivalent. To understand the subsequent even better, let us ponder through the precedent of the ultra-luxurious fashion brand, Gucci.
In 2017, Gucci stepped up and launched its own décor line. The fashion label offered furniture and decorative homeware, designed by their creative director, Alessandro Michele, featuring the Gucci’s distinct and unparalleled motifs and patterns. The chair designed by Alessandro Michele tails similar principles as for their clothing line; a lacquered finish with velvet upholstery, the details of it hand embroidered and an intricate motif of a cat head with a cluster of flowers.
Likewise, Fendi collaborated with architect Cristina Celestino to bring out three tables at design Miami (2016). These represented or instead resembled earring studs and a scrupulous dual ring. Also, Fendi’s chair pieces are comfortable, adorable, stylish, and minimalistic in every form. Much like their clothing designs, the artists have used a fox fur trim around the base of it, focusing on luxurious textiles and texture.
The Italian fashion house, Versace, is no backwards when talking about taking furniture and fashion on the parallels. The house of Versace is known for its bright colours and extremely loud prints, which are seen in all kinds of their furniture design; from the upholstery for an armchair, bed linens, to the ceramics in homeware line.
All the above precedents point to one conclusion. There has always been a relation between fashion and furniture but was unexplored and concealed for a very long time.
In today’s scenario, the symbiotic correlation between fashion and furniture is unambiguous, and in fact, demanded. We should bear in mind the connection that exists, and try to address it more. Both fashion and furniture are persuasive and compelling spaces of self-expression, allowing people to generate their identity in numerous ways.
