You might take it for granted, but fashion trends shouldn’t just upgrade the way you present yourself when they can also inspire how you dress and re-dress your environment. Though people are often quick to dismiss fashion as ephemeral and frivolous, there’s something to be said about the quiet synchronicity the fashion and interior design industries share in creating fully realized lifestyles. And while what goes into a room should create more of an atmosphere than an impression, looking at the runways for home decor trends is a great source of innovative, easier to replicate ideas.
Searching for inspiration on Pinterest lead us back to Mary Katrantzou’s breakthrough Spring 2011 show (above) where she masterfully played with digital prints of legendary rooms from old issues of Architectural Digest and World of Interiors and was mischievously quoted as saying that she “wanted to put the room on the woman, rather than the woman in the room.” That’s what got us thinking: it’s about creating the world around you. Not just what you’re wearing, or the sofa you bought, it’s about the complete lifestyle you appropriate to your benefit. It’s how and where you’re living with it.
Look at the elaborate, Hollywood-worthy runway sets luxury houses produce each season as the attitude and message of the interiors in the images you see, is just as important as what the models are wearing. In fact, since the late 60’s, labels from Gucci to Ralph Lauren have set home décor trends while channeling their aesthetic into beautifully designed everyday objects to offer their clientele a complete way of living.
To get you initiated on infusing your environment with home décor trends echoing notes of the way you dress, we took a quick scan through recent runway trends to connect you with new ideas to bring into your home, as both the fashion and interior world’s mirror each other more often than you’d think.
Menswear Moments
Check, please! From English tweeds and checks to sturdy banker pinstripes, menswear fabrics have a gender-neutral, graphic quality that adds an upscale feel to even the simplest of everyday objects. At Calvin Klein, classic menswear fabrications were given new life with large-scale optical houndstooth prints that had all the makings of a new decor trend to try at home.
For your home: The contrasting ottoman cubes above are a prime example of a modern approach to updated menswear tropes, taking them from dad worthy to standout textiles that are sure to add an easy irreverence to your space – without a single splash of additional color to over think.
Color-Blocking
As designers continue to mine the 90’s for inspiration, the era’s clever hand at simple color blocking remains timeless while allowing for brilliant plays on opposing color for a fresh way to approach pairing hues altogether. A hallmark of modern-day Celine and Jil Sander, color blocking remains consistently popular in the art and design worlds for good reason.
For your home: In essence, color-blocking allows you to marry two or more hues that may not work at first together to create interesting color combinations. Think of Mondrian’s graphic canvases as a starting point. Graphic color-blocked grids of primary hues continue to evoke a contemporary spirit that’s easy to master for home interiors for a bold, happy, and modern sensibility. It could be as simple as adding a new shower curtain or dressing your dining table with linens that boast a chartreuse and terracotta combination – the sky’s the limit with this minimal home decor trend.
Mixed Bouquet
From moody to New Romantic blooms, florals for spring got an upgrade via abstraction, filmy overlays and a dose of avant-garde fabric manipulations through gathers, oversized ruffles, and statement-making finishes. At Giambattista Valli, Louis Vuitton and Valentino, florals that unsurprisingly resonated with home decor standbys were given a modern bent that’s worth taking note of for your home.
For your home: This season’s collections having toed the line between ruffly, old-world florals and an ultra-modern sci-fi sensibility should be your starting point for introducing floral hints into your home without having it look like Laura Ashley set a flower bomb off in the building. Embrace the joyous, spirited aura florals lend to a room in small doses for a fresh approach with muted colorways and unique silhouettes that are anything but chintzy.
Eclectic Layering
If the 90’s taught us anything about the way we dress, it’s that there are no rules – something you should take into account any time you want to switch things up at home. Today, it’s all about the hybridization of norms to create something entirely new and visually striking. For an easy refresh, think about how your favorite style icons present themselves. They don’t dress just one way (who lives like that anyway?). They incorporate elements that may not immediately make sense together but do with a well-informed eye. It’s all about high & low, romantic riffs with modern sensibilities, and casual & formal notes combined.
For your home: Take advantage of the freedom a well-judged mix of disparate elements affords you and think about unexpected ways you can add a free-spirited dash of energy room by room while sticking to what rings true to you. By seamlessly piecing together what would have before felt off-kilter, you’ll take pride in pairing what you would have once found challenging with what you already have. Go ahead and combine let’s say an indulgent gilt brocade tablecloth layered on top of an otherwise masculine console, the trick is to keep the mood relaxed by not sticking to one prescribed, limiting aesthetic.
Textural Plays
As the fashion world is often the first to utilize the latest fabric innovations at a mass level, paying attention to new developments from the industry and how they are used is an idea that’s easy to replicate at home. A quick walk down any stylish block should elicit the current vogue for clothing that is full of textural interest to take note of; chubby teddy coats, fuzzy knits, 3-d molded fabrications and sumptuous velvet.
For your home: Lucky for you, texture is an easier and more subtle way to add a sense of play to a room while making it feel comfortable and makes for a viable alternative to prints and patterns that you’ll could tire of. As texture is often found in small decorative doses, incorporate it in a myriad of affordable ways from throws to a tonal padded matelassé quilted duvet with graphic stitching for added interest, or something as luxe as a fine knit mohair pillow or a cozy yetti wall hanging. And if you’re stocked on throws and pillows, go another route with amorphous vessels and planters, such as the ones above.
Sportif Elements
As fashion reflects the way we live, athleisure continues to dominate the market and the casual, sporty way many of us dress day to day, there’s something to be said about the romanticism of the vintage sporting inspired colorways, graphics and symbolism slowly coming back in style.
For your home: No matter where your chosen décor aesthetic leads you, there’s virtually no style that won’t benefit from sportif stripes and a free-spirited vibe brought in thru elements lifted from elevated sporting gear. Look for extras such as mariniere inspired striped rugs for the summer featuring complimentary colors or equestrian-inspired accents finished with crests, insignias and the type of authoritative symbolism that conjure up a win for the team without saying a word in casual fabrications like jersey, silk mesh and cotton.
Neon Brights + Metallics
With technological innovations continuing to advance the possibilities of fabrications and the way they catch light, bold shots of neon and full-on reflective, metallic looks continue to dominate runways as they evoke a sense of power and stimulating modernity.
For your home: From a smattering of neon-infused design objects to sleek, silver metallics, it’s all about adding little hints into a room’s mix. Think throw pillows decorated with 3-d embellishments, fluid lamé blankets and sculptural high-shine silver and gold add-ons. To bring in assertive neon-tinged hues, go for small doses in riotous tones from bud vases to covetable design tomes considerately placed to work as talking points throughout your home. This way, you don’t have to go big with bold hues, and they can easily be switched out when the moment fades.
