People
Transatlantic talent
by Elizabeth Choppin
08
Rather than following European design, a new generation of ambitious American creatives is making its presence felt – not just in the US, but worldwide
TEN YEARS AGO, the American design scene was polarised, generally veering into two camps: highly commercial, middle-of-the- road output or offbeat, niche brands that spoke to a small group of devotees. Much the same is true today – except that, with the rise of social media and the speed with which designers can connect with an audience, the steady groundswell in the American design scene has reached peak strength in the last four to fi ve years. Some of the most celebrated collections to be shown recently in Milan, London, Paris, and New York are from independent US talent leading the conversation in material innovation and modern styling across lighting, furniture, and objects. Arguably, the current infatuation with
warm metals, smoky glass, and elemental silhouettes can be linked to the work of Lindsey Adelman[2], Bec Brittain, Roll & Hill[5], Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, and Apparatus[3]. These New York-based studios have shaped the contemporary lighting scene – although that is not to downplay the impression American designers are making in disciplines across the board. Newcomer Eny Lee Parker[4], based in Brooklyn, sent
ripples across ICFF and Instagram last year with her inaugural furniture collection, a beautifully resolved series of pieces with desert tones and rich, sumptuous materiality. Her follow-up collection in 2018 includes lighting, furniture, and accessories incorporating tactile ceramics, with standout decorative mirrors draped in delicate ceramic chainmail. It borders on the realm of design art. There are dozens more young practices – Elyse Graham, and Steven Haulenbeek[1], to name just two – who are infusing American design with an air of experimentation and producing work that is at once poetic and fresh. Clearly, it has taken some time for
the contemporary American design scene to fi nd its place on the world stage. “We’re still a pretty young country,” says lighting designer Lindsey Adelman. Along with experimental wallpaper brand Calico, she staged one of the most talked about installations at Milan Design Week this year. “We had to fi nd our own voice. Design that was coming out of the US ten or fi fteen years ago had to look Scandi, Dutch, or Italian to succeed. It couldn’t look American and get noticed for being design,” says
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