DE S IGN CENTRE
YEARS YOUNG
Could art deco be the most influential design movement
in history? As the Parisian exhibition that gave the style its name hits its centenary, Emily Brooks considers its glittering legacy for today’s brands and interior designers
past, better matching the forward-looking attitudes and industrial progress of the age. During the next seven months, 16 million people visited, and a new design style was crowned, named after the expo itself: art deco. Who could have guessed that, a century later, we’d still be in its thrall? It has
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become the quintessential language of luxury, and according to Jena Quinn of Studio QD, “it defined modernity, and still does today.” Quinn and Studio QD’s co-founder Lucy Derbyshire recently published a book on the subject (Interior Style: Art Deco, published by Hachette) and cite it as a regular influence on their design work. Part of art deco’s appeal is how it speaks of an age that was full of change, optimism
and creativity. From jazz to surrealism, from the glamour of the cruise ship to the mass-production of cars, everything had an irresistible forward dynamism. Those great societal changes were directly reflected in the art deco style: chairs with tall, curving arms that echo the aerodynamic shape of a car fender; furniture in chrome, steel and glass; and glowing lighting with concealed light sources that were only possible with the widespread implementation of electricity. Art deco was about the inherent luxury of artisanship – and this is what resonates
with designers most strongly a century later. “We like those simplified silhouettes and the restraint of art deco, but it’s more about the principle of everything being bespoke and tailored,” says Derbyshire. Quinn cites the work of Alexander Lamont as one Design Centre brand that takes those ideas and makes them work for contemporary tastes: from straw marquetry screens to shagreen cabinets, its collections have a certain materiality in common, but more importantly they have the same commitment to craftsmanship. Some of the design ingredients to look for in classic deco style include lustrous
finishes such as burr timber, vellum and lacquer. “Materials definitely took centre stage. They were sumptuous, and they were exotic,” says Derbyshire. Ancient cultures, especially Egypt, the Aztecs, China, Japan, and classical Greece and Rome, were another influence, as were the sleek, streamlined shapes that paid homage to the machine age. Pattern was present, but usually restrained: a Greek key or abstract fan drawn in gold on glossy black, for example. Many of the Design Centre’s showrooms proudly wear their art deco influences,
from lighting at Bella Figura to furniture at Shepel’ (whose Jean Franck-inspired kitchen can be seen in its showroom). Esti Barnes of Topfloor by Esti says she loves the style “for its sublime elegance in fashion, interiors, architecture and objets d’art” while Perrin & Rowe’s lead designer Umesh Thakur can talk about deco from the
n April 1925, 15,000 exhibitors from 20 different countries gathered in Paris for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. The aim was to highlight the modern architecture and decorative arts that had sprung up in Europe after the First World War – a conscious break with the styles of the
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© Nick Rochowski
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