Fashion, decor ideas a mutual inspiration
Everyone always asks “what’s hot for next season” or “what colours are in right now?” The truth is that you might already know the answer just from flipping through this month’s Flare or Vogue.
All three of us look through fashion magazines as often as design publications to keep up on trends, colours and textures.
As Toronto Fashion Week kicks off on Monday, we’re looking at the relationship between interior design and fashion.
Fashion and design influence each other almost equally. One of the biggest reasons is the textile industry. Textiles cross the boundaries from fashion to design fluidly; the same new patterns and materials might look equally good in a dress as on a sofa.
After all, the world’s textile centres are also fashion and interior design centres. When designers of either stripe look for new fabrics, they are surrounded by new decor influences that might find their way into fashion, and vice versa.
ARCHITECTURE AND fashion influence each other in the way they are structured and constructed. The transfer of aesthetic from interior design to fashion design is near instantaneous through patterns, prints, colour, textures and even technology. Decor and fashion both strive to make “of the moment” statements, taking cues from the world around them. Certain Frank Gehry works have a material flow to them, while many designers, both fashion and interior, are inspired by nature.
The fashion world also changes with the seasons, and interior decor has followed suit. People who love decorating change accessories in their spaces with the seasons, using different window dressings, pillows and throws to switch up the look of the space, from summer to winter. Some people even redesign a room yearly with the latest trends, the way you might buy hip accessories for a chic new outfit.
The recent trend of big names from fashion moving into the decor market is another indication that boundaries are very fluid. Armani, Missoni, Ralph Lauren and Kenzo have products lines that translate their core style from clothing to the home.
In the end, inspiration and influence goes both ways: the idea for your design story can come as easily from Vanity Fair as it can from House and Home.
