Monday I am going to give a five minute talky thing at Grange showroom in Denver for their Runway to Room themed cocktail event. Thank you Liz for inviting me to take on a subject that I hold dear to me. Lizzie, an amazing stylist, from Etcetera is showing their spring line of stylish togs and I am going to talk about the connection between fashion and home decorating. Obvs, right? Well, kind of...
Anyone can look through history and see that certain things trickle down or over to the home furnishing market. In the past it was a bit harder to track, because these were the pre-internet years people. And now that gap has been closed significantly, of course. We all scope out what is new and exciting on the runway within hours of the couture shows posting the latest and greatest shots. I love that Jezebel.com posts the most highly anticipated shows on their website almost as soon as the runway closes. You can get a down and dirty look at what you think the trends will be before the mags start their dictation of what we should adhere to.
So we of course have the Armani line that has moved itself into home fashion, as well as Calvin Klein, all preceded by Pierre Cardin in the happenin' '70s. Smart move considering the home industry is a 700 billion dollar market, even with recession... So here we are, we can talk about Rodarte doing fabrics for Knoll, we can discuss how certain colors are seen on the runway and then in the home. We can argue about the hippest styles whether they are modern or not and how we have seen them evolve into home "apparel". But here is the key for me.
When it comes to fashion I know what I like, how it will suit me and what kind of image it will hopefully project. I know when I might die if I do not acquire the new Louboutins I just saw at Neimans. I knew when I saw Dior's reissue of the Samouri 1947 handbag that I would literally expire if I did not acquire it for a very significant birthday. We all have stories like this in some form or another, right? So, we know who we are when we are dressing ourselves. We all have our standard uniforms that identify our style at a basic level. So, humor me here for a sec while I go all Oprah on you, but, when we are dressed and done up properly, not uber fancy but we have taken the time to pick the outfit with care and out and about I feel like I do better. I am more successful at whatever I am trying to complete that day. We tend to feel better about ourselves when we look good. Period.
Do you hear the angels singing as you look at this?
So, shouldn't we feel this way when we come home at night after a crappy day as we enter our abode? The same care should be applied to your home as you do when you dress for the day. Trust when I say I have my share of Target Go International finds that are awesome with my Dior bag or Manolo shoes. It is about knowing your style. There is amazing stuff out there that is old, new, cheap, expensive, and off the hook just for you. Again, it is easily understood that of course this is the way it should be, however, is it the way it is?
About 10 years ago I was really debating if I wanted to continue in this career, I felt what I was doing wasn't curing cancer and was quite shallow. Stunned aren't you, considering how much I love design. I had several years of trying to find the value in what I did. I joined charitable groups affiliated with design. I gave back to the community when I could, and I still wasn't feeling very fulfilled. I continued on while the low grade hum of pathetic-ness buzzed in the back of my head. I had a client that I dearly loved (still do) and when we were done with their massive renovation and decorating project (that got blasted both nationally and locally) the client cured my ill. His career helps solve our worlds ecological issues. He is at the forefront of working on global solutions to our earth's problems. He told me that what we did for his home changed how he went out into the world to do his job! There it was, and when I listened to what the clients said about the work I was doing in their homes what was coming back to me were similar stories. We were doing work that affected them personally and how they interacted with their world. It made their world a better place to live as well as those who interacted with them.
There it is, how can you change your environment on the micro level? How can you make yourself happier in your home and have it translate to the world? What does that look like to you? You know your personal style, the same should be said of your home. Your home is one of your most intimate reflections of you, it should be individualized to you. What describes you: Stylish, elegant sophisticated, comfortable etc. and where does that fall in the scope of reality?
This is where you return to at the end of the day, where you land to recharge. The day is brushed off, forgotten and you are renewed. Shouldn’t this part of your life reflect the same care you take with your individual demeanor? While the fashion element we are talking about totally trickles down in obvious stylistic ways it is also a more familiar translation to ourselves than home fashion. I think the personal knowledge of how we would like to live is more difficult to express and under explored, but more intriguing on many levels.
PS, I had a client say they wanted to taste a fabric this week! I think I have found a friend for life!
