In the Middle Ages, when everyone trusted in god, they also believed that nature was alive. The existence of “Mother Earth” proposed by Aristotle, as interpreted by St Thomas Aquinas, was taught in universities. Animals and plants were believed to have souls, the Latin word for soul being “anima”. The scientific revolution starting in the […]
In a felicitous display of fabulosity, the latest exhibition at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum – Zandra Rhodes: 50 Years of Fabulous – plays host to the lifetime’s output of its colourful founder and resident, Dame Zandra Rhodes. The largest presentation of her work yet showcases a design for every year of her career, and […]
There was a time when hats were expected, not just on formal occasions, but for everyday wear. In the 1950s, a woman without a hat was less likely to be served in a shop and was highly unlikely to be seen in a church. Hats are no longer considered a vital part of an outfit, […]
Whether you go to London’s new Design Museum to see the architecture or the exhibits, you are unlikely to be disappointed. Hailed by original founder and inspirational octogenarian, Sir Terence Conran as, “a cathedral of design,” and “the most important moment of my career in design… so far,” the museum brings to life a dream […]
Discarded materials have been put to good use in Cheryl Higgins’s textile collections. The young designer’s slow textiles incorporate used bottle tops and ring pulls reworked into sustainable mixed media designs. Her 2015 degree show at Loughborough University won her a place as one of the Top 30 New Designers in the annual show of the same name. Cheryl […]
Everyone seems rather down. Perhaps we are in need of some seasonal cheer to counteract the debilitating post-Brexit doldrums? In Britain, the most popular way of pepping up summer events is with strawberries and champagne: So let’s look at the bubbles appearing everywhere from kitchens to catwalks. Suspended bubble lamps of the type popularized by Tom Dixon have been in vogue […]
In Visuology Issue 2, we featured Outside In living, drawing attention to the growing desire to be at one with nature. Carpet tile maker, Interface, has researched the global impact of biophilic design in the workplace. Workers in office environments with natural elements, such as greenery and sunlight, report a 15% higher level of wellbeing, […]
Espadrilles and shoes with woven natural fibre soles have been in and out of fashion for nearly a hundred years and are currently having a major revival. The biggest grass shoe of the moment has to be Egg’s beetlecrusher, made from natural rush. The designer price may preclude a rush to newly relocated Dover Street […]
Why is it that art galleries and happening concept stores are always off the beaten track? There’s probably a correlation between the difficulty of finding a place and the level of slow style snobbery. On the same stretch of Berlin’s Potsdamer Strasse as uber-trendy Andreas Murkudis, a new Acne outpost, a fair few Turkish grocery […]
Everything is connected. People say the world is getting smaller, but external cultural influences have inspired tastes in food, style, art and design for as long as man has travelled. In China, tea has been drunk for millennia, but the art of drinking tea is a culture all of its own. Gonfu Cha, the Chinese tea ceremony means “making […]