Design Team: Merging trends in art and fashion

Sugar House Studios, built and managed by Assemble, was inspired by prominent trends – colour blocking and natural raw materials – and has combined them in a unique approach to exterior design.

Through layering pastel-coloured brick, the studio has created a bright façade to its otherwise industrial building. Paying homage to the history of concrete tiles, coloured pigment is added to the original material to create sugary sweet candy tones.

Raw materials

The Print Matters exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre in London explores the relationship between magazines and the fashion industry. Displayed artefacts offer an overview of trends in colour, shape and material – the most prominent centring on the importance of detail. Tactile print, gloss and shimmer effects provide a subtle layered approach to materials, inviting the onlooker to take a closer look. 

Linking into the replication of raw materials, urban concepts have also played a large part in influencing contemporary trends. Denim, frayed edges, acid wash and layering, alongside organic forms – folded, pinched, pulled and manipulated.

Colour alternatives

Monochrome offers juxtaposition to bold colour, working alongside metallic and shimmer-effect finishes. Taking influence from this is our Duo range, which draws on the main elements of the trend.

Culture and technology

At the Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition in London (ends 22 May 2016), an entire capsule of fashion trends is documented, since British Vogue was founded in 1916. 

The main takeaway of the exhibition for the Design Team was just how influential fashion is in relation to the design and art industries, providing a response to the changing social and economic climate.

As with the design industry, alongside consistently updated trends and social shifts, technological advancements greatly affect the sector’s output. This is a theme that spans the manufacturing world, as heritage companies such as Johnson Tiles are now able to replicate natural materials with seamless precision, providing a sustainable alternative that looks and feels like the original material.

Bold colour 

Although colour has long been a statement in the fashion industry, bold shades and clashing patterns are key trends for the current and upcoming season’s collections.

Alongside this, the influence of raw materials and finishes play a key role in both the current fashion and ceramics trends. Our Brics and Stonework ranges tie into the shift towards natural materials, whilst our Shimmer range reflects a subtle approach to metallics.

Tactility 

Checks, pinstripes, ethnic embroidery, tapestry and brocade are all favoured textural effects in the current ceramic trends, with tactility being key. The recent Johnson Tiles collaboration with Alexandra O’Brien of Bay Gallery Home to recreate Aboriginal artworks on tile, replicates this perfectly.

The Design Team has had a busy start to the year, visiting key exhibitions all across the country, including Vogue 100: A Century of Style at the National Portrait Gallery and Print Matters at the Korean Cultural Centre, London. Each show has focused on an individual section of the fashion, art or design industry, however the highlighted trends apply to all creative practices.  

The team’s discoveries presented the question: Does the design industry inspire the fashion industry? Or are the two more closely aligned than ever before? 

This season we have seen particularly strong links between the tile industry and the fashion industry, with fabric looks being replicated onto porcelain and ceramic tiles, alongside a move towards creating realistic natural textures and colours, including concrete, wood and metallics.