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Grey matter: furniture for prisons, designed by Central Saint Martins students, including chairs and stools.
Grey matter: furniture for prisons, designed by Central Saint Martins students, including chairs and stools.
Grey matter: furniture for prisons, designed by Central Saint Martins students, including chairs and stools.

Trends for autumn: what’s new in the world of design

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Recycled plastic, South African design and fungal headphones are among the top stories this season

A constructive approach to prison life

When students at Central Saint Martins were asked by the Ministry of Justice to come up with ideas for a new range of prison cell furniture the brief was complex but precise. “Everything had to be strong, safe and sustainable. It also had to improve prisoners’ welfare in practical, cost-effective ways,” explains the project’s director, Professor Lorraine Gamman of CSM’s Design Against Crime Research Centre.

To try to understand the challenges of life behind bars, students visited HM’s prisons, talking to staff and inmates. During their research for the Cell Furniture Project; they found that furniture bears the brunt of prisoners’ frustrations. It can be smashed or dismembered to be used as a weapon. “Prisoners can also be creative, flipping cupboards on their side to make tables, rolling up mattresses to make punch bags for exercise,” says Gamman. Their findings revealed different types of inmates. “Some want to study, others to exercise or meditate, others are obsessed with cleanliness,” explains researcher Jeffrey Doruff.

As a starting point, students focused on “the use, misuse and abuse of furniture”, removing any potentially dangerous components. They also looked at ways of improving other elements of prison-cell life, such as privacy, ergonomics or cleanliness.

Sixteen students took part in the project and their designs range from the Scandi-esque to the ingenious. One set of colourful cubes functions as seating, storage and exercise equipment; customisable shelving addresses the lack of personal space in shared cells. Instead of conventional MDF or metal, students used safer, recyclable materials including cardboard or cork. One tackled the all-pervading problem of smell by using charcoal to absorb odours.

For Gamman, an advocate of restorative justice, equally important are the furniture workshops for inmates. Alongside traditional joinery techniques, prisoners will learn how to recycle materials such as plastic.

“These are vocational skills that can help inmates find employment after prison,” she says. “Improved design can’t mend what the charity The Howard League has called our ‘broken system’ but flexible furniture, which delivers tangible human benefits, can be part of the solution.” Serena Fokschaner


Breaking the mould with DIY science

Playful terrazzo-style furniture from the Thing Thing collection.

Thing Thing is a band of industrial designers who take a joyous, playful approach to recycling plastic. Thom Moran, Simon Anton, Eiji Jimbo and Rachel Mulder crossed paths at Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning – and in 2012 came together as a gaggle of mad professors in plastic reinvention. “We had no idea how to run a business,” says Anton. “We were purely inspired by the excitement of working with this amazing – and horrifying – material. We lived together in a big house in Detroit and made the strangest, most playful things we could.”

Imagine industrial product design done from an off-grid garage microbrewery and you’ll have some idea of how Thing Thing works. They have adapted machinery to create their own versions of industrial tools – plastic extruders, injection and compression moulds – which allows for handcrafted one-off bespoke and short-run pieces. The products are not only beautiful (a happy outcome), but a practical response to our big plastic problem.

“Everybody already knows [the current state of] ecological disaster,” says Anton. “Shaking our finger at the public isn’t going to change anything. As designers we have the opportunity to approach the problem creatively and offer new narratives. Something that makes it beautiful enough to smuggle into refined environments.”

Thing Thing’s solutions range from stools made by shaping shredded waste plastic in a frying pan to the complex moulding used for their Pillow Lamps. Currently they’re developing a substance called “dimensional lumber” using hand-recycled HDPE plastics and big ovens. Their innovative manufacturing processes are just as inspiring as the playful terrazzo-style materials they produce. Tackling big problems with positivity: a step in the right direction. Anna Burns

High romance heads to the high street

Luke Edward Hall’s foppish romanticism is heading to the high street with a capsule collection of homeware designed by the young artist for Habitat. His undulating line drawings of serpents and heroes from antiquity cover ceramic lamps, throws and cushions, while a suite inspired by a Habitat design from the 60s is reinvigorated with circus-tent stripes in a lively combination of sky-blue and emerald-green velvet.

The sinuous lines, bold colours and classical references will be familiar to anyone who as followed Hall since he graduated from Central Saint Martins, where his final menswear collection – heavy on the tailoring and inspired by Keats’ pastoral romance, Endymion – established him as an enthusiastic exponent of dandyish maximalism.

In the seven years since, through his hand-painted ceramics, prints, fabrics and interiors, he has built an aesthetic utopia that sits somewhere between 1920s Bloomsbury and the fields of Elysium. “I’ve been a fan of Habitat for many years,” says Hall, who has copies of the company’s catalogues from the 60s and 70s in his archive. “It’s been a pleasure bringing my designs to life with such an iconic British company.” Murray Healy
Products from £50, habitat.co.uk/luke

Berlin turns its sights to the walls of today

To mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gropius Bau’s group exhibition Walking Through Walls features works by 26 artists including Marina Abramović, Tagreed Darghouth and Yuan Yuan. The show, curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, explores the segregation and confinement caused by walls and political power structures through painting, sculpture, performance and photography. The museum is adjacent to a site where a few fragments of the Berlin Wall still remain. So it’s a poignant location for a show looking at how walls separate people and how they affect those who live with them.

Standout pieces include Danish artist Michael Kvium’s vast painting Beach of Plenty, which at first glance looks like a happy holiday scene; look closely and it shows a dinghy filled with refugees approaching the shore. Another is the video and sound installation by Jerusalem-born and London-based artist Smadar Dreyfus. Mother’s Day (2006-2008) is set at the Israeli-Syrian border at the Golan Heights, a zone between the two countries where a megaphone system is set up on mother’s day so the generations can communicate. The work features recordings of greetings sent between Druze women in Israel’s Golan Heights and their children on the Syrian side of the border. Becky Sunshine
Walking Through Walls at Gropius Bau, Berlin, is open until 19 January

Traditional glassmakers go retro-futuristic

Oceano 2019, made from hand-blown Murano glass. Photograph: Achille Salvagni Atelier

This October sees the launch of Laguna, Achille Salvagni’s new collection of furniture and decorative objects for which he travelled to Murano to work with the legendary glass masters. “Working with Murano has enabled me to embrace colour,” says Salvagni, who was inspired to use their glass “as a functional surface rather than just a decorative one, which is quite a novel approach. To have it as a table top or a handle invites the user to touch it.”

Laguna draws on aspects of Mediterranean culture even more ancient than Murano’s glassmaking traditions: it features a bar cabinet decorated with black glass details, and fluidly curvaceous vases and candle holders named after Greek gods. There are also new versions of two Salvagni retro-future classics, the Drop table and Spider chandelier. “Murano glass has been used in chandeliers for centuries,” says the designer, “so to use it in this very contemporary fashion is very exciting.” Murray Healy
The collection will be available at PAD London (pad-fairs.com)

Celebrating the art school at the height of fashion

Freeze frame: Matty Bovan’s designs. Photograph: © Matty Bovan, c2013

In the spring of 1939, St Martins School of Art moved into new premises at 107-109 Charing Cross Road. “Now the school is properly housed,” London county council leader Herbert Morrison declared, “we hope the students will take full advantage of the opportunities afforded for studying.” They did, as Hywel Davies and Cally Blackman’s vibrant new history, Fashion Central Saint Martins (Thames & Hudson), explores – albeit in ways well beyond Morrison’s imagining.

Over the deades, the building the Observer dubbed an “astonishing honeycomb” would play host to generation after generation of groundbreaking talent. It was where the Sex Pistols played their first gig, where John Galliano’s unique vision ignited and where Alexander McQueen started down the path to stardom.

And through this book, many of its extraordinary students – among them Bill Gibb, Hussein Chalayan, Katie Grand, Phoebe Philo, Riccardo Tisci, Gareth Pugh and Christopher Kane – reflect on CSM’s impact. As Katharine Hamnett, a graduate from the class of 69, puts it: “I owe them the debt of my life.”

At its core, it’s a heartfelt tribute to the school’s equally extraordinary teachers, from pioneering Muriel Pemberton and unflappable Bobby Hillson to formidable Louise Wilson. They shaped an educational phenomenon that occupies a unique space in British fashion.

A spotlight on South Africa’s daring design

Rich-Mnisi made a name for himself in fashion, with fans including Beyonce and Naomi Campbell. This is his first foray into furniture. Photograph: Hayden Phipps

For more than a decade, the Southern Guild gallery in Cape Town has championed South African design. Now this month, Southern Guild will show in the UK for the first time, with an exhibition at the PAD London fair.

As well as representing the country’s most established artists and makers, Southern Guild is also a home for rising stars, from multidisciplinary artist Atang Tshikare, who specialises in sculptural furniture, to fashion designer Rich Mnisi, whose first collection of minimalist leather seating was inspired by his late great-grandmother.

“The idea of collectible design is relatively new, it’s only since the international design fairs took off that it has become more mainstream,” says South African Trevyn McGowan, who set up the gallery with her British husband Julian. “In 2011 we were the first African gallery to present work at Design Miami and I realised that we were part of this movement.”

The couple decided to launch the gallery after Trevyn’s experiences at her interior design and architectural practice in London, sourcing South African furnishings and home accessories for stores such as Liberty and Heal’s (Julian worked as a set designer back then). “There were artists whose larger-scale pieces made from more expensive materials didn’t fit into that exporting model,” she recalls.

Since then, the pair has made a name for the gallery and its artists on a global scale. “We’re not just representing artists,” says Trevyn, “what we’ve done over the years is propel the industry forward by providing a platform for creative collaborations, mentorship, museum shows and international exchanges.”

The couple are also inspired by a desire to explore South African issues, be it politics, history or tribal heritage. “All our makers have their own narrative,” she says. “So they produce incredibly personal pieces that could only be made by them.” Emma Love

Six Southern Guild artists to watch:

Rich Mnisi, furniture Johannesburg born designer Rich Mnisi has made a name for himself in fashion with his award-winning line which has been worn by Beyonce and Naomi Campbell. The Nwa-Mulamula sofa, named after his great-grandmother, is his first forray into furniture.

An example of Andile Dyalvane’s hand-built terracotta and stoneware. Photograph: Adriaan Louw

Andile Dyalvane, ceramicist Renowned Cape Town-based ceramicist Andile Dyalvane explores his Xhosa heritage. His hand-built terracotta and stoneware pieces are often named after farming machinery or crops, whether it’s an interpretation of a traditional African milk pail or a bowl formed from overlapping layers of clay that represent textures caused by soil erosion.

Porky Hefer, designer From lifesize nests woven with Kooboo cane inspired by the weaver bird to his new leather seating pod made especially for PAD London, Porky Hefer’s playful pieces use age-old techniques. In 2016, he represented South Africaat the inaugural London Design Biennale; last year he was commissioned by art consultants for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

Dokter and Misses, product design Industrial designer Adriaan Hugo and graphic designer Katy Taplin are the husband-and-wife team behind this Johannesburg-based multidisciplinary design company that produces bold, modernist furniture and lighting. Contemporary reworkings of traditional African patterns are a key feature, as seen on pieces such as the hand-painted beech Kassena Isibheqe Servercabinet, which references the adobe structures of the Kassena people of Burkina Faso.

Justine Mahoney, sculptor Justine Mahoney’s work looks at childhood, especially dreams and the loss of innocence. Her own youth as a privileged white girl in 70s Johannesburg is the main inspiration for her kitsch bronze sculptures based on cut-and-paste collages of pop culture. Her first show looked at childhood while the second focussed on teenagers, including an emotionally conflicted “Sleeping Samurai” female warrior who appears outwardly strong yet still wears school shoes.

Athi-Patra Ruga, artist Anyone who has walked past the windows of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank this summer will have seen Athi-Patra Ruga’s images of avatars. The artist – whose work spans film, photography, sculpture and textiles, and is part of the permanent collection at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art in Cape Town – is known for his vision of utopia populated by characters who explore post-apartheid politics in South Africa. His latest piece, Proposed Model of the New Azanian, is a large-scale tapestry.

A brand for all seasons

An Asket T-shirt: ‘Every garment has a story,’ says co-founder August Bard Bringeus. Photograph: Asket

If you’ve ever been baffled by how hard it is to find quality menswear basics, then Asket is for you. This independent Swedish brand was born from that disappointment. Co-founders Jakob Dworsky and August Bard Bringéus were at Stockholm School of Economics rather than fashion college when their annoyance turned from grumbles to a business plan in 2015, and this unusual origin story has shaped the company. “We came into fashion as outsiders,” Bard Bringéus says. “What struck us was how absurd it is that we consume clothing as if it’s disposable. The industry has normalised the notion that buying something like a T-shirt – a product that you keep for years – can cost less than the price of a lunch. We realised that we could disrupt the existing logic and lead a new approach to fashion.”

So, yes, the beautifully designed clothes come in a wide range of sizes and lengths for great fit, but supply chain is now the focus. The collection is permanent, avoiding the seasonal trend trap, and the merino wool used in crew-neck, polo-neck and zip-up jumpers is now 100% traceable. “Every garment has a story and a cost. But if we don’t know where or how it’s produced, how can we possibly understand the effect it is having on people and the planet?” Bard Bringéus asks. “Only by demanding traceability and transparency can we hold brands accountable for their actions.” And if this all sounds a bit polemic, he can put it more simply for you: “We need to drastically slow down consumption as a whole, before our planet bursts.” Alice Fisher

Stopping the rot: fungal headphones

Aivan Korvaa headphones, grown from fungus and yeast. Photograph: Aivan Oy

Suitable for fans of Mouldplay, these are the world’s first headphones grown from fungus and yeast. Korvaa (from the Finnish korva for “ear” and korvaa,“to replace”) were made by Helsinki studio Aivan, with scientists, to showcase synthetic biology, which applies engineering principles to biology. The idea was documentarist Nina Pulkkis’s: working on a film about SynBio, she “had lots of lab samples, but wanted to show what it can do. Could we make a real object? The researchers said, yeah, why not?”

Headphones were chosen for their universality and breadth of materials. In place of metal, plastic and leather are six microbially grown substances, including fungus, a bioplastic grown using lactic acid in baker’s yeast and a protein based on spider silk.

In 10 years, will we look back and think our reliance on plastic was madness? “We look at it now,” Pulkkis says. “And it’s madness.” Johnny Davis

The Gentlewoman: a 10-year-old’s party you will want to crash

Showing how women ‘actually look, sound and dress’: Adele on the cover of The Gentlewoman. Photograph: The Gentlewoman

In her first – and only – editor’s letter in The Gentlewoman, Penny Martin set out her store for the biannual magazine. It would show women as they “actually look, sound and dress”, while subjects would be “stylish, intrepid and often hilarious”.

With celebrations starting for The Gentlewoman’s 10th anniversary this month, that manifesto obviously struck a chord. Over the last decade, the magazine has featured girls and women aged from nine to 98. Interviewees include authors, artists, lawyers and athletes, and two of its female cover stars have sported fake beards (artist Cindy Sherman and photographer Inez van Lamsweerde), which probably counts as hilarious. “We’re proud that we’re achieving what we set out to do in terms of editorial ambitions,” says Martin, “connecting with our readers and making it work commercially. But our greatest asset is the Club.”

For the uninitiated, The Gentlewoman Club is a meet-up open to all that grew out of early signing sessions in bookshops. “The readers who turned up were such a switched-on crowd: it was obvious there was huge potential for a more evolved programme of events,” says Martin. She was right: The Gentlewoman has held walking tours, dance parties and film screenings for its 40,000 members around the world. Olivia Colman, Alice Rawsthorn and Robyn have turned up as faces in the crowds of women who’ve come to events. So it’s fitting that the main event to mark the 10th anniversary will be celebrated with a Club world tour.

Events are now scheduled for Stockholm, Lake Como and Shanghai with more to come. “We couldn’t have predicted what a symbiotic and non-corporate dynamic would develop between us and our readers,” says Martin. “It’s something we plan to extend and develop. It’s the dream, really.” Alice Fisher
To join The Gentlewoman Club go to https://thegentlewoman.co.uk/club

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