Publicerad 12:13, 17 November 2011
One of the Best Sources…
of inspiration, the mighty Copenhagen Cycle Chic, celebrated the fifth anniversary of its first image this week.
As a (more than) keen cyclist, the site is on my list of weekly stopping off points and its refreshing focus on cycling as urban transportation, as opposed to athletic pursuits, has added an extra angle on cycling in the world we live in today.
Since its inception by Mikael Colville-Andersen, Cycle Chic has sprouted little clone sites and affiliates throughout the world (strangely not one in Sweden though, that I know of) while promoting its Style Over Speed ethics and adjoined Go Slow Movement. I think it’s one of those sites which you cannot help but enjoy be it simply for a bit of eye-candy or for its deeper messages of alternative transport. So, I’m going to post in its honour a picture of a nice bike I saw this morning which was resplendent in its utilitarian green paint job and complementary tyres.
It’s also a splendid post for this week, which has seen me undertake a little consulting work for a small bike brand here in Stockholm. I’ll keep the cat in its bag for now but it was a fun bike-related meeting which might see a couple of things see light next Spring which Mr Cycle Chic himself would approve of.
Happy birthday Copenhagen Cycle Chic
Publicerad 08:58, 10 November 2011
A Stage Invasion at a Trend Presentation…
Is not the kind of thing I’m used to. However, that’s exactly what we had yesterday following the first presentation of Oversight One: Authentic Change at the Elmia Subcontractor show. Nobody fell asleep and we had a great mix of industry and the impoverished design youth totalling about 100. We had some big names too, which we’ll not drop here as we’re going to follow each and every one up with a little bit of care and consideration.
Yet I type this satiated from what can only be described as a success and one which clearly has a place in the industry. Lots of comments too from the audience who agreed with our core belief all along that the forecast industry needs to evolve and that our particular blend of trend sources is something which has been missing for some time.
Yet ’tis Thursday and I’ve a hankering for fashion at the moment, spurred on by the fact that soon I shall have in my possession new denim, this time from Ironheart – one brand I have not broken in before. So in celebration of colour and fash here’s a very strong image from the mighty Scott Schuman which is a bit of a colour blending lesson to the uninitiated.
We have this dashing chap in a deep blue suit (with a bit of an ankle-tapper of a hem break). As it’s playing off to the darker end of chroma he’s been a bit clever and gone to the green and brown as an accent making everything hang together very nicely. But with the green and brown he’s pulled a double accent coup as both sit really well together. This would probably be more clear if he was standing as the blue would blend down through to the green of the socks and then on, into the brown of the loafers.
There’s another sartorial lesson which our chap is giving us by demonstrating one of my personal favourite rules – never mix your skins. So we’ve got the brown shoe complementing the brown leather in his bag.
Yeah, there may not be a need to deconstruct a look but it’s a lighthearted way to examine the power of colour and perfectly pitched for this extended Autumn we’re having.
Publicerad 09:52, 4 November 2011
Elmia
Next Wednesday, Oversight One – Authentic Change will be introduced to the public for the first time, after months of planning, shooting, editing and compiling. We’re holding court for an hour and a half and have selected three of the five trends we feel best fit the needs of the audience together with a really in-depth introduction into forecasting, trendspotting and futurism.
After a four hour meeting with everyone involved yesterday I feel very confident that Oversight is going to be a really strong progression of the forecasting format. The information alone is absolute gold dust and ties together in a really strong, compelling way.
So, if you’re at Elmia Subcontractor and fancy seeing what is probably the first real Scandinavian trend forecast then pop along and say hello.
Publicerad 06:44, 23 October 2011
Want Morling
Sadly this comes as a last resort. Not on account of the subject itself but that I have, sadly, overdrawn my blog/magazine account when it comes to writing about Katharine Morling. Which is a massive shame because she is probably the most consistently progressive individual I have met in my twelve years in editorial.
So, for a few months at least TBD will be the sanctuary of Morling worship.
Katharine Morling is an artist working out of Deptford’s Cockpit Studio in south east London. I met her about six years ago and felt obliged to buy some of her work, not something which happens often. Morling normally classes herself as a fine artist but today it seems safe to say that she crosses into design territory every so often.
During our first meeting she was creating large-scale ceramic pieces with themes plucked from her vast imagination, carousels carrying horses, large Dalia flowers, sandcastles and a range of bonkers flocked neon ceramic centrepieces. Apparently after we ran a piece on her at Mix a gent called up and bought eight or nine pieces, while another collector asked the artist to load a taxi with stuff and go to her office where she promtly bought the entire lot! Ace.
As a result Morling has been able to push on to her goal, which, she divuldged, was to one day create an entire house in ceramics (kind of like House by Rachel Whiteread) but a little trickier than pouring concrete into something already structurally sound.
The grand news is that Morling is actually getting some of the way there. A few years after our first meet, she showed me an archair and mathing pouf that were not only to scale but could actually be sat upon. In kiln-fired ceramics with a period-correct glaze!
More recently still, the artist won Mons, the World Crafts Council’s Triennial for Ceramics and Glass with a wonderful monchrome ceramic installation. Staggeringly creative work, with a style which is fast becoming her signature.
Her Mons work also demonstrated that she is one artist who is very engaged with progressing what is possible with her chosen medium: I think that this is what draws me in as someone who reads on a weekly basis about one designer or another supposedly ‘exploring the boundaries offered by their chosen materials in their collection, A Table Made of Wood’.
So to the main crux of the post.
On November 2nd, Katharine Morling opens her latest solo show, Animated Life at Long and Rye Gallery, 4 John Islip Street in London. The private view is on the 2nd from 8 in the eve. If I were still in London I would be there with so many bells on it you’d have to airlift me through the ruddy roof. From the look of the flyer it’s going to be another treat from an incredibly unbridled creative mind and a truly contageous individual.
Publicerad 12:11, 18 October 2011
Soothsays
My forecasting company has teamed up with a new agency in town, Blick to create a little seasonal trend report under the working title of Soothsays – after the early fortune tellers from Ancient Greece. The report is undergoing some finishing touches but should be ready soon for downloading. The first trend we’re taking a look at is Employee Empowerment, which deals with a move away from conventional staff attitudes towards a more staff-centred approach to retail to reap rewards in the increasingly homogenised marketplace. It’s good reading, easy to digest and in a format you can just download and read on the bus or tube. We’ll be following this up with a Spring, Summer and Autumn edition next year.
Blick is spearheaded by my good friend Mikaela Dylhén who used to head up the insight department at BVD and, for want of a cliché, really knows her onions where retail is concerned.
I’ll be adding some colour information as and when it needs to be added. Check back for more info in a few weeks time.
Talking of trends, there’s a lot of chit chat about the Spring COS collection and it’s kind of easy to see why. Very on point where colour and cut are concerned – elegant and minimalist on the form which allows a much richer, more vibrant colour palette to be used. Plus, on the menswear side at least, it looks like we’re in for a slight increase on the pant rise, which is a bit of a flatterer.
Publicerad 10:31, 17 October 2011
Clean Slates
Autumn brings with it change. Some enjoy the transition from Summer to Winter via one of the most colourful seasons, as nature sheds itself of its green in readiness for colder times. This blog too has shed some weight and has cast off the posts of recent months in preparation to be linked up with the Form site.
There might be a slight adjustment in terms of subject matter and tone too, so it’s been unlinked from the central Oversight webpage too to avoid confusion. However the purpose of The Bleakest Day will still be to stand as an independent sounding point for colour and trend forecasting in design, architecture and industrial design.
With any luck the posts will be a little more frequent soon as I emerge from my trend hiatus and hand over Oversight One to its clever people in preparation for its launch. All in, things have gone incredibly well. While it’s always a little harrowing to stick your neck out and actually pursue a project close to your heart; any trepidation I might have had, about whether everything would pull together, has been replaced with awe concerning the possibilities which open up if you surround yourself with creative people to share a central vision.
So, in a few weeks time, the first glimpse of my colour forecast Oversight One will be unleashed as part of a presentation at a big Nordic trade show. In the weeks which follow, Oversight One will shed its protective covering and be available internationally, showcasing its Nordic trend narrative resplendant in its rather innovative format.
