The world’s leading university of art and design is an inspiring place to hunt for unique Christmas gifts. Showcasing the raw talent of students from a variety of arts disciplines including textiles, fine art and ceramics, the Royal College of Art Christmas Fete is now in its 4th year. All proceeds from the event at […]
Billed as the highlight of the V&A’s India Season, The Fabric of India will be the first major exhibition to explore the dynamic and multifaceted world of handmade Indian textiles from the 3rd to the 21st century. The show will feature over 200 pieces including an 18th century tent, ceremonial and religious cloths, textiles created for […]
In anticipation of the British Museum’s forthcoming Indigenous Australia exhibition, we look at the rise of Aboriginal textile designs in fashion and interiors. Indigenous Australians’ oral tradition and spiritual values are based upon reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime – a sacred era when ancestral totemic spirit beings created the world. […]
“We don’t have codpieces now, but we have pretty tight jeans,” says Tim Knox, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum. There is now a noticeable interest in romantic male accessories and man-bags – a trend we pointed to in Tudor-themed Visuology Issue 1. These are the sorts of items mentioned by Matthäus Schwarz in a Renaissance […]
The oldest art ever discovered is now available for public viewing. But the cave paintings to be seen in the Ardèche region of France are in fact recent reproductions of the originals. The Chauvet cave, named after Jean-Marie Chauvet, one of the three people who found the treasure trove of Paleolithic paintings, is open rarely, to just a […]
We thought you might like to hear more about the Visuology Lecture, which took place at Viktor Wynd’s Museum of Curiosities recently. The star attraction (apart from innumerable specimens of taxidermy, twisted ephemera, macabre and medical memorabilia) was Savile Row tailor, Richard Anderson. One of the most experienced tailors in the world famous street, Anderson […]
The night air is filled with dreams. Good dreams are clear and know the way to the dreamer, descending through the feathers. The slightest movement of the feathers indicates the passage of yet another beautiful dream. Bad dreams, however, are confused and confusing. They cannot find their way through the web and are trapped there […]
Some futurologists predict a world where embryos will be grown in test tubes at baby farms. Perhaps we will soon be ‘following’ the life of the celebrity embryo and foetus in advance of any such baby’s birth. Despite these prospects, in the age of the caesarian, the enduring familiarity of natural birth still excites us. Babies […]
The video below shows a small snippet from our latest presentation. A previous Curious Trends report highlighted some of the bee and honeycomb inspired product designs spotted during 2011. Sarah Burton’s Alexander McQueen collection for Spring/Summer 2013 also reflected the beekeeping theme. Bees and honeycomb designs were common features of Elizabethan embroidery. They are now appearing […]