Bridge For Design Summer 2014 Bridge For Design Summer 2014 Issue

DESIGN TRENDS | view point LUXURY IS FASHIONABLE There are unmistakable signs that conﬁdence is returning says John Crowell A But real luxury is not about excess; it describes the apogee of comfort and style. Uncompromising quality and fashion; as it does from time to time. The last time it happened was in the 1990 extravagance. In fact, despite this commendable national restraint, many British names epitomise luxury and style. Luxury and adornment are not anathema to British taste. What is really important in any design, whether minimalist or extravagantly opulent, is how well it is done. You only have to look at the great historic country houses of England and Ireland. The great land-owners wanted luxury, beauty and of course, status, and were prepared to pay for it. The rich baroque gilt-wood carving, the imported this global gloom, and purchasers are again enjoying indulging themselves by embellishing their houses and their lives, and even being seen to spend on extravagances. It has happened again starting in 2008, and it has really fashionable to be frugal. classes who were not spending. Even oligarchs and oil sheikhs, whose wealth could put Croesus to shame, battened down the hatches, curtailing all but essential personal expenditure and considering it quite inappropriate to be seen to spend extravagantly. An air of pious Puritanism pervaded the world, even entering the realms of the super-rich. But, in the last few months, everywhere around the world, there are are eager to celebrate their success. ‘Bespoke’ is a word we are hearing with increasing frequency. Nothing epitomises luxury more than having goods, services and design tailored to the individual’s own tastes and needs. This is true in Haute Couture and automobiles, in jewellery and in travel. And it is especially so in the world of Interior Design. Vanbrugh, demanded the highest standards of craftsmanship and perfect proportion, and raised their gloriously embellished interiors to sublime levels. opportunity for renewed creativity, where demanding clients will expect bespoke products and services that are unique and their’s alone. Designers and decorators are responding to that challenge, sourcing exciting and original products and designs that are created uniquely and exclusively for the individual clients’ tastes and requirements. And their demanding and increasingly knowledgeable customers have come to expect this bespoke approach, and appreciate this heightened level of luxury. B ■ they stand when it comes to “luxury”. A little understatement is, to English taste, always paramount, and showy vulgarity is to be abhorred and avoided above all. 52 Bridge for Design Summer 2014 For more information about Beaumont & Fletcher, CLICK HERE

Bridge For Design Summer 2014 Bridge For Design Summer 2014 Issue | Page 52