Russia, as we now know it, has a long and complex history of embroidery, one going back many hundreds of years. From the gold thread vestments of medieval clergy to the colourful and intricately illustrated clothing of indigenous cultures, Russian embroidery has much to tell us about the nation through the centuries. Far more than…
Category Archives: PIONEERS
The roots of embroidery are often traced back to ancient China. It was the Chinese who first began cultivating and producing silk, a magical substance that could be woven into the softest fabrics, or spun into threads as soft and fine as human hair. Some of the very first embroideries were also produced in China…
Embroidery has an incredibly rich and varied history spanning thousands of years, and it is still widespread and popular today. In fact, of all our world’s ancient traditions, it is one of the longest surviving. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised at this epic lifespan – embroidery has the power to entirely transform clothing and fabrics,…
“I paint flesh because I’m human. Flesh is just the most beautiful thing to paint.” Jenny Saville’s voluptuous, rippling folds of flesh explore the living, breathing human experience. On one hand she is a painter’s painter, who relishes in the messy, smeary liquidity of oil paint, but she also draws parallels between the sensuality of painting and…
Italian husband-and-wife team Massimo and Lella Vignelli made a remarkable contribution to late 20th century design, ushering in a new brand of elegance, simplicity and order. Both trained as architects but their legacy is far more extensive, spanning silverware, bags, watches, furniture and typography. “If you can design one thing, you can design everything,” they…
French husband-and-wife team Ramdane Touhami and Victoire de Taillac are one of the busiest and most entrepreneurial couples of today. Both are cofounders of Officine Universelle Buly, a luxury beauty brand with an emphasis on whimsical, naturally derived hand-made products and vintage-inspired graphics. Nomadic in nature, the pair prefer a life of travel and adventure…
Isabel and Ruben Toledo are best known today as fashion’s greatest love story; their endless, intense love for one another is the foundation from which all their best ideas have grown. His whip-smart illustrations and her razor-sharp clothing have overlapped and intersected many times over the four decades they shared together. Even in the wake…
Gabriel Hendifar and Jeremy Anderson are the ingenious power couple behind famed lighting brand Apparatus, which has been steadily growing in stature over the last ten years. With a 40 strong team and a busy Manhattan workshop, Apparatus have developed a cult following for their eccentric take on lighting, which incorporates subversive materials including suede,…
Anishka Clarke and Niya Bascom are the duo behind Ishka Designs, the Brooklyn-based interiors firm making waves around the world. With an impressive portfolio spanning New York, France, Jamaica and beyond, they have earned a reputation as pared back minimalists who take inspiration from the shapes, patterns and textures of nature, and a “waste-not”, ecological…
Natalie Shirinian and Elizabeth Baudouin are the force behind NES Creative, a communications agency in New York that represents some of the most in-demand designers of today, including lighting and furniture studio Apparatus, and jewellery designer Yolande Batteau. Partners in life and in business, the duo have two lavish and beautifully designed homes they move…
There is a quiet, understated elegance to the award-winning architecture of Billie Tsien and Tod Williams, which seems to blend effortlessly in with its surrounding space. In contrast with the macho, monolithic architecture that populates so many of our cities their world is more cerebral and considered, a contemplation of how real people and real…
American design duo Charles and Ray Eames are icons of the 20th century, pioneering the streamlined naturalism of Mid-Century Modernism. Their particular brand of Modernist architecture, interiors, furniture and industrial design was both playful and minimal, injecting fun into the po-faced seriousness of the design world. He was the clean minimalist who revolutionised weightless design…
Even though embroidery has been traditionally thought of as a female craft, today we will talk about Stewart Francis Easton, a sewing gent who enjoys making unexpected work and adding an alternative viewpoint and dynamism to embroidery. His hybrid technique of mixing digital print with hand embroidery means his work blurs the lines between craft,…
Husband-and-wife team Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch are the charismatic, larger-than-life founders of Roman and Williams, an American interiors and architecture firm making waves throughout the contemporary design world. Founded in 2002, their company took the names ‘Roman and Williams’ from their maternal grandfathers, a move that would set the stage for their design ethos,…
Marion Mahony Griffin and Walter Burley Griffin, aka the Griffins, were an exceptional design team, with radical ideas that spanned continents and cultures. Both architects, they established their joint business in California in the early 20th century before relocating to Australia, making their mark with environmentally aware urban design. Both were united by mutual respect…
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