For Spring and Summer 2015, color expert Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, focused on a shift that is ongoing toward the understated, pale and nature-like end of the spectrum. "There is a growing movement to step out and create ‘quiet zones’ to disconnect from technology and unwind, giving ourselves time to stop and be still," she explains, pointing out that many designers are gravitating away from "mechanically-manipulated" colors and "reinvented" hues. Instead, they are choosing shades that look like they could have drifted in from a daydream, that wistfully look back to simpler times, channeling the rustic and uncomplicated allure of the folkloric.
A good example is Pigeon Toe Ceramics in north Portland, which was formed to celebrate the extensive history of handcrafts. Their quirky yet elegant pieces are "alive with the joy and vision of its makers," they explain. Using a combination of skill and imagination - and livened up with a flash in insight - their work takes the everyday and explores its aesthetic potential. "We accentuate function and redefine form," they continue, noting that the process isn't complete until you, the wearer, give the final item life as part of your look. While its purpose (making you look cooler) is lovely, their pieces have a certain presence and an unusual quality.
Like the necklace above. Porcelain beads are shaped to look like porcupine quills, and then woven together with yarn whose delicate straw coloring belies the fact that it's silk blended with steel. Finishing touches include knotted tassels, brass tubing and a cord made of leather the color of mint.
Even the container it comes in is thoughtful and cool: a handcrafted maple box with sliding plexiglass lid which makes it perfect for gifting...if you're actually able to part with it.
- Lesley Scott
NOTE: Honoring the past to help us pave the way forward fashionwise is a signature of the Folkspun fashion tribe. For more of my posts about this tribe, CLICK HERE. To learn more about each of fashion's four mega-tribes that I track, START HERE.
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