Fashion: The Bellwether Of Good Design

When it comes to good design, Tom Ford knows of which he speaks. During a 2011 Fashion Week interview with Lisa Eisner for Bergdorf Goodman, the fashion designer and filmmaker summed up the ubiquitous world of aesthetics perfectly.

“A good filmmaker, a good designer, a good architect, a good anyone needs to have a sense of history. You need to understand where you come from,” he said. “Periods are not only marked by clothes. The same mood permeates all the arts—architecture, card design, industrial design, graphic design ... You’ve got to know where you are so you can know where you are going.”

September, which signals the peak of fashion frenzy, is also the best time for many of us to commence projects, business, social, charity or otherwise, after a lazy summer. And as we are ready to cultivate our to-do lists, the cultural arts rev up and the season commences.

Shelter magazines, fat with ads and advice, invest heavily in their September issues in order to capture and captivate their largest audiences. And these audiences are eager to learn both “where we are and where we are going.”

Mr. Ford’s particular brilliance is his willingness to look at every aspect of culture to help distill his vision. Successful designers everywhere not only look to the beat of contemporary culture but never lose their own drum rhythm.

September issues champion these suc-

cesses, especially in the ever-changing up-to-the-moment world of fashion. Viewing these fashion issues can more often than not also give one insight into the upcoming trends in the worlds of home furnishings and design: the perusal of the silhouette of a skirt may presage the silhouette of a club chair; a predominant color on skirts and blouses may soon be applied to pillow fabrics; and a pervasive attitude in clothing style may soon predict the pervasive attitude in room styling.

An intense perusal of the September issues of the fashion magazines is always interesting and an enlightening bellwether for me. And this year has been no different.

So, can we start with the shoes? Are the thick toes and architecturally thick wedges that swell below the ankles of women a sign of chunky stability? A power grab?

Women are still lifted 4 inches in height but the delicate heel that signifies a sexual off-balance fragility seems not to be in evidence. Could this heavy foundation signify a return of chunk in upholstery, heftier base mouldings, or a visual bottom heaviness in bowls, pots and vases?

Since slacks are flaring and shoulders are returning to a padded but natural style, will we see the bottles, pitchers and glassware reflecting this sweep as well?

Innovative textures undeniably dominate the pages of September issues. There are tweeds that resemble crushed stone in Macadam, wools that resemble shimmering pony skin, tulles that are encrusted in beads, which remind me more of the skin of a python’s head.

There are all manner of furs and dyed furs, which are unabashedly full and luxurious but are hardly reminiscent of your mother’s mink. Goat hair, long and fluid, dyed red is draping across shoulders or is sewn into seams, sprouting like grass. Short-haired furs appear as entire lanky dresses. Fur appears on sleeve cuffs and across shoulders. But it appears not as itself and not as a “Blackglama Legend” but as a rich dramatic texture, bound to find its way into home furnishings—on pillows, slipcovers, borders and curtain hems.

Lace as a texture, dyed in current hues, is hardly prim or romantic. Used with a contemporary silhouette, clinging close, lace is an inspiration for tight slipcovers, wallpaper and upholstery of all manner.

Color in both women’s and men’s fashion finds us primarily in the grey zone. Platinum, steel, granite, titanium, charcoal and storm cloud survive on their texture and their application of cut.

For interior designers, grey still reigns—from Manhattan to Montauk and from Los Angeles to Miami. Satin grey walls and deep grey piles of wool, silk and hemp carpets are ubiquitous and ongoing.

A distinct lack of pattern is offset by large color fields of tangerine and teal blue, sunflower yellow and shamrock green. Hardly subtle choices. Speaking of subtle, the darkest shades of green, claret and sapphire appear so black that you discover their hue only in the turn or ripple of the fabric. I hope these colors invade the interior’s textile industry, as they are an elegant alternative to the deadness of black.

Silhouette is vital to understand when forecasting the future shapes of home furnishings. For a period of time, we saw body-clinging clothing, tight and stretched. Furnishings reflected this with no fuss and attached a revival of curvilinear 1960s-era furnishings, and even Sputnik-revival, saucer-like shapes.

But 2011 showcases a more draped figure, sheaths still lean but not quite as body hugging. As I imagine fashion-conscious women languorously lounging, I can hardly imagine them lounging on the boxy, square sofas of several years ago.

The “Mad Men” aesthetic has trickled down into a swank chrome, glass, Corian- and steel-style. But a softening is becoming apparent—almost a sensible femininity without a dose of saccharine sweetness. This seems to reflect the attitude of interiors along with a more curvilinear appeal.

Eclecticism still reigns. The mix should always be personal and possibly surprising. Yet in this casual eclecticism, there emerges an attitude of elegance and an attitude of a softer yet still powerful sense of self.

All of this fashion dictation most likely will wend its way into the world of interior design—from the arm of a sofa, to the trim of a curtain, to the shape of a table, to the overall attitude our rooms may take.

To repeat Mr. Ford’s invaluable advice, “You’ve got to know where you are so you can know where you are going.” Nothing can be a more valuable bellwether than the September issues of design magazines, particularly fashion. Look, learn and predict.