As London Fashion week comes to an end and next seasons styles are out of the bag, its made me think about the huge influence this all has on the way we will decorate homes in the next year also how we will furnish them.
Obviously the colours we're wearing at any time will affect the colour we chose for paint, fabric, carpet etc.
But how does fashion affect our choice in furniture ?
I've been looking back over the past 100 or so years and comparing how what people were wearing with the architecture and interiors of the time. The styles within each period all seem somehow to “gel” and seem to sit well with each other.
The heavy drop and flow of the rich drapes in this Victorian style picture almost mirror the long flowing gowns the two ladies are wearing and the richly carved and ornate furniture fits style and tone of the room perfectly.
Another great example of this was the Art Deco era of the 1930's, the straight lines that are made to form geometric shapes in Deco furniture and accessories have come directly from the crisp sharp edged clothes worn during that period.
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| A 1930's Art Deco house & Vehicle |
Photo: From the exhibition website, NGV – courtesy of Brian Scott
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| Classic Art Deco Geometry.. A Red Leather & Chrome armchair |
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| 3 Ladies in classic 1930's wear, note the straight cut of their dresses |
Heading towards and during the 2nd world war, clothes became a little more formal and utilitarian as did furniture and accessories. Furniture was made cheaply mainly from plywood and laminates and finished in veneers, it was hard wearing and known as utility furniture in England, it lived up to its name and served its purpose, in fact a lot of wartime furniture has been exported to North America in the last 30 years and still being used today.
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| Ladies in 1940's smart practical clothes |
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| Part of a Utility Furniture Brochure from the 40's |
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| A Typical English 1940's living room |
As the more liberal 1960's & 70's commenced the skirts got shorter and then very flowery, smart cut suits lost out to flared pants and colourful kaftan's, and in turn everything got a little more fun and a whole lot more colourful as did the architecture, interior decoration and furniture.
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| Shots from a fashion show in 1970 |
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| A VERY 1970's living area |
Of course some of the best quality and most stylish items whether be it houses, items of clothing, accessories, interiors or pieces of furniture are timeless and will always be lived in, worn or used. Then there's some ideas that probably shouldn't of even entered somebody's head !!
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