From Fashion to Interiors- I HEART all of it

There is a trend I am seeing in furnishings, and most notably with fashion designers..... a trend that was once only seen in little girls' bedrooms, on their school book binders, or Valentine's Day cards, and that would be HEARTS. It is my daily passing of Moschino, Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson, and Stella McCartney, that initially led to this discovery. You will usually find me staring into the windows of these couture fashion houses lusting after what the mannequins are wearing, imagining when I would be able to afford these masterpieces, and better yet, imagining where I would be wearing them. But this day was a little different.

Moschino changed their visual window display to include a chair upholstered in red satin and velvet quilted hearts. It is so cute, and I immediately fell in love with it. Very playful and modern, yet still remaining sexy, with a little bit of sass!

Then, while scouring the Internet, I came across Vivienne Westwood for The Rug Company's Love-Hearts rug. Wow... Another heart inspired object of my affection.

Am I onto a trend here? I think maybe. What's interesting here is that these are fashion designers bringing this motif into their showroom or in VW's case, her interior line. Often you will find fashion imitating interior design or visaversa- an endless circle of inspiration. I believe this is a perfect example of that. Perhaps it was the collections of Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, and Moschino that have inspired this emerging design trend for Fall 2009 (not new, I know, but definitely new to the world of high-end living.)

Vivienne Westwood



Moschino



Marc Jacobs

Intrigued, I set out on a hunt to find the use of hearts in other stores, interiors, photo spreads, etc. Let me tell you, there is not much out there..... yet. I tried some of the hip stores I know of in NYC, websites, Jonathan Adler (the king of graphic accessories,) Target, Anthropology. I did find heart shaped mirrors on the site, A+R, the store in LA I blogged about the other day, that I really liked for only $96.

I picture this set of mirrors above the vanity in a dark powder room with traditional furnishings, giving it a pop of unexpected graphic flair.

The only other heart accessory I could find, was at IKEA- the Vanna for $7.99. I think these would make such a bold statement if placed on a wall in a repetitive collection. They could be lined up in rows on the wall at the end of a hall or powder room, or a single line down the wall of niche.

There is a trickle down effect in fashion, art, and design. The top designers decide what they love and how they will implement it into society, and eventually the masses catch on, and what was once a novelty is now a bore. The fact that I searched high and low to find hearts, and this was all I could find, can only mean two things.

• It will not catch on and none of the big shot designers want anything to do with it.
  
• My theory- we have caught the beginning of the trend, and will start to see this motif more and more, and I say by next spring, we will most likely start to see it everywhere.

Can't wait to see if I am right! :)

When it comes to the graphic design of the HEART, do not be afraid to use it, simply because it could be associated with being girlie. Creating irony is exciting when it comes to design. And who said there is anything wrong with being girlie!

Cheers!

The Designista