• Viewpoint Colour # 7
  • Viewpoint Colour # 7
  • Viewpoint Colour # 7
  • Viewpoint Colour # 7
  • Viewpoint Colour # 7
  • Viewpoint Colour # 7
  • Viewpoint Colour # 7
  • Viewpoint Colour # 7
  • Viewpoint Colour # 7

Viewpoint Colour # 7

VIEWPOINT COLOUR no 7

PRE-LOVE

Sustainability is an evolving theme that we’ve previously started to unpack, in issues such as Viewpoint Colour #05, the Organic Matters edition, where we explored ways in which we can reassess our relationship with the planet. Now we’re taking the next step, with a controversial central theme. Growth, expansion and prosperity are seen as desirable: we are programmed to strive for ‘more’. But should we in fact be considering ‘no more’? Is it time to embrace degrowth: a downscaling of production and consumption that shifts the focus away from material accumulation and towards human wellbeing and ecological balance? Given the extent and urgency of the climate emergency, is it time to put the brakes on consumption entirely? Can we make do with what we have and with what already exists – in short, stop making new things, full stop? And if so, how will the future role of designers look? How will the design industry evolve?

VIEWPOINT COLOUR NO 7 CONTENTS

FORECAST: THE COLOUR CURATORS

In this issue’s forecast feature we celebrate the curation rather than creation of colour. The Colour Curators profiles the designers who are working with existing textiles, materials and products. These creatives are making new from old; finding innovative ways of building colour and materials stories from pre-loved resources while embracing imperfection and irregularity.

THE COLOUR OF LONGEVITY

How can we use colour to design well-loved products that stand the test of time; that enjoy long-term use and outlast fashion trends, fads and gimmicks? Can we design with the intention of second, third or fourth lives, and beyond? How can new designs utilise colour for both functional and emotional longevity?

FAKE FACADES

The Amusement Park photographic series by David Brandon Geeting is a commentary on the false facades of amusement parks. ‘At first glance, an amusement park looks fun,’ Geeting explains, ‘but after you spend some time in one it’s actually a bit nightmarish and everything’s falling apart.’

THE RESALE REVOLUTION

Previously the domain of vintage and thrift store enthusiasts, pre-loved clothing is now being purchased by all demographics, ages and style tribes – from quiet unbranded essentialists to cult streetwear brand followers and designer collectors. Brands and retailers need to step up and pay attention to the resale revolution, for the sake of their own survival and that of the whole fashion industry.

PRE-LOVED COLOUR

As the second-hand revolution takes hold, we explore how resale retailers are using colour as a key tool to appeal to specific audiences, from the muted pastels of vintage discoveries and the synthetic brights of 1990s sportswear to minimalist, contemporary-classic browns and beige.


RAEBURN: JOURNEY TO ANOTHER DIMENSION


‘We do three things at Raeburn: Remade, Reduced, Recycled. Everything fits into that ethos.’ Christopher Raeburn, founder and creative director, Raeburn
‘I’m really interested in the space downstream. As a producer you should be accountable and responsible for the item, no matter where it is and what it’s doing.’
Graeme Raeburn, performance director, Raeburn

PATTERN FIX: FINDING BEAUTY IN THE ACT OF REPAIR

From contemporary takes on the Japanese shashiko and kintsugi techniques to unapologetic low-fi dipping, taping and gluing, repair is finding new prestige in the design landscape

DEMATERIALISED COLOUR

What if clothes could exist beyond the physical, just like thoughts? Not requiring a single piece of fabric and free even from the pull of gravity, the digital fashion world seems to be unexplored and full of creative potential.