CREATIVE FUEL 2014
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<strong>CREATIVE</strong> <strong>FUEL</strong> <strong>2014</strong><br />
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What is<br />
COUNSEL?<br />
COUNSEL<br />
methodology<br />
What is a<br />
Future Sign?<br />
Counsel is Lowe and Partners’<br />
cultural insight and analysis<br />
consultancy.<br />
Counsel is dedicated to identifying<br />
and understanding global and local<br />
emerging shifts in consumer attitudes<br />
and behaviour. By identifying key<br />
cultural and behavioural foresights<br />
(Future Signs) we help frame and<br />
shape the development of our<br />
clients’ brand and communication<br />
strategies. Our data analysis<br />
capabilities enable us to also help<br />
clients predict and evaluate the<br />
effectiveness of those strategies.<br />
Extensive experience working with<br />
many of the world’s leading brands<br />
is augmented by our network of over<br />
3000 leading edge and mainstream<br />
consumers in over 55 key cities around<br />
the world. Accessing our global<br />
Thought Leader network helps clients<br />
to navigate and prepare in the everchanging<br />
business and consumer<br />
landscape. Coupled with research,<br />
econometric and quantitative analysis<br />
skills, Counsel is uniquely placed to<br />
help our clients understand their<br />
target consumers and markets.<br />
The marketing industry now<br />
accepts the significance of<br />
leading-edge intelligence in<br />
determining future consumer<br />
tastes and behaviour.<br />
Globalisation has created an<br />
environment where new ideas and<br />
behaviours are generated and adopted<br />
on a global level. Certain cities and<br />
countries act as leaders of emerging<br />
trends and can provide insight into<br />
those yet to enter the mainstream.<br />
A combination of these forces and the<br />
reality that most product development<br />
and marketing planning processes are<br />
timed in years rather than months<br />
means brands and marketers need<br />
to be in touch with emerging Future<br />
Signs in popular culture.<br />
Finding a way of seeing into<br />
the future has become the aim of<br />
brands wanting to build successful<br />
consumer relationships. Being able<br />
to provide consumers with what they<br />
want, when they want it, communicated<br />
to them in a way that is relevant to<br />
them is one of the key challenges<br />
for contemporary brands. To do<br />
this successfully they need tobe<br />
one step ahead.<br />
Lowe Counsel Future Signs<br />
provide a window onto the<br />
future direction of the<br />
mainstream, six months to<br />
two years ahead. These can<br />
represent macro shifts in<br />
consumer behaviour and<br />
attitudes or micro shifts<br />
relating to a specific<br />
category, territory or<br />
target audience group.<br />
Our Future Signs series of publications<br />
provides colleagues and clients with<br />
implications of how a specific ‘Future<br />
Sign’ will impact consumer and<br />
category behaviour.<br />
Counsel monitors these changes as<br />
they emerge and charts their evolution<br />
and impact on the mainstream. Not only<br />
do Counsel ‘Future Signs’ represent<br />
the evolution of existing macro trends,<br />
but they also represent the seeds of<br />
future mainstream attitudes and<br />
behaviour. In a world of information<br />
overload, access to accurate and<br />
concise trend information and the new<br />
ideas contained within offer valuable<br />
insight, which can create a business<br />
advantage. Being able to respond<br />
appropriately to emerging trends can<br />
enable brands to gain relevance, build<br />
connection and ultimately become part<br />
of the contemporary culture context.<br />
All Counsel Future Signs are supported<br />
by statistical and other quantifiable<br />
data, which provide additional evidence<br />
of how the influence of individual trends<br />
is manifested by consumer attitudes<br />
and purchase decisions.<br />
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<strong>CREATIVE</strong> <strong>FUEL</strong><br />
Editor’s Note<br />
Welcome to Creative Fuel <strong>2014</strong>. In this<br />
section of our Future Signs report we<br />
preview the next batch of emerging visual<br />
trends from around the world. The creation<br />
and adoption of new creative styles is<br />
closely linked to broader cultural trends<br />
and can be seen to be reflective of changing<br />
societal values and preoccupations. What<br />
is particularly interesting about this year’s<br />
batch of trends is that they represent a<br />
turning point in the evolution and direction<br />
of contemporary culture. After almost ten<br />
years when retro influences have dominated<br />
creative culture, we now see the world’s<br />
leading creative pioneers (artists, designers<br />
and creative technologists) turning their<br />
attention towards imagining the future.<br />
This new creative flowering is in part due<br />
to embracing new relationships with<br />
technology, but is also part of a desire<br />
to create work that is both timeless and<br />
of the time. We hope you enjoy reading<br />
about them as much as we have enjoyed<br />
researching and compiling them.<br />
What is Creative Fuel?<br />
Lowe Counsel Creative Fuel provides<br />
a window onto the future direction of<br />
mainstream visual culture, six months<br />
to two years ahead. While by no means<br />
prescriptive, it is intended to provide fuel,<br />
inspiration and creative stimulus for those<br />
interested in the development of visual<br />
culture. Creative Fuel will be updated<br />
annually to provide an overview of the<br />
freshest, most innovative and influential<br />
aesthetic styles being used by leading edge<br />
artists and creatives around the world.<br />
We have taken every effort to credit and<br />
attribute all work featured in this section and<br />
thank all artists for their inspiring contribution<br />
to the ongoing contemporary aesthetic.<br />
Contents<br />
1. Neo Futurism page 7<br />
2. Dark Matter page 13<br />
3. Grid page 17<br />
4. Glitch page 21<br />
5. Techno Tribal pagE 25<br />
6. Mineral World pagE 29<br />
7. Baroque page 33<br />
8. WaterColour pagE 37<br />
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NEO FUTURISM<br />
The Neo Futurism trend embodies the<br />
struggle to create a new visual style<br />
free from retro influences.<br />
This trend echoes the core objectives of the<br />
original Futurist Art movement, which sought<br />
to make a clear break with past traditions and<br />
formulate a new style relevant for the times.<br />
According to the original Futurist manifesto:<br />
“(Futurism) emphasised and glorified themes<br />
associated with contemporary concepts of the<br />
future, including speed, technology, youth and<br />
violence.” [1] As an ideology and blueprint for<br />
creativity it feels as relevant today as it did<br />
when it was written at the beginning of the<br />
20th century.<br />
Examples of this new visual language<br />
incorporate new man-machine interfaces<br />
such as Xbox Kinetic, Google Glass or drone<br />
cameras as image generating tools. The use of<br />
these new ‘imaging technologies’ offers new<br />
creative possibilities and visual effects. Neo<br />
Futurism should also be seen in the context of<br />
the current ‘New Aesthetic’ movement; a term<br />
coined by James Brindle to describe the visual<br />
language of digital technology and the<br />
blending of the virtual and the physical.<br />
Nick Knight’s groundbreaking online and print<br />
work for Hong Kong based fashion portal Lane<br />
Crawford provides a great example of the<br />
trend by producing a Neo-Futuristic aesthetic.<br />
Created using 3D scanning and motion capturing,<br />
Knight discards the camera with startlingly<br />
modern results. A similar technique has been<br />
used in the futuristic press shots created for<br />
the launch of Kanye West’s ‘Yeezus’ album.<br />
Other examples of the approach include<br />
Sam Bland’s ‘Googlology’, which asks us to<br />
consider ‘How does Google see?’. Created<br />
using ‘Goggles’, the mobile image search feature<br />
in the Google mobile app, it layers the app’s best<br />
attempts to match his photos. The often random<br />
or unpredictable nature of the images generated<br />
is intriguing. The work manages to present<br />
a series of images of a computer-generated<br />
perspective on the world. Using this technique<br />
Bland has created an artistic view of the world<br />
as seen through Google’s eyes. According to<br />
the artist: “Watching how Google combines<br />
things has helped me to see the world in a<br />
(new) less conditioned way.” [2] An approach<br />
that is at the heart of the Neo-Futurist style.<br />
A number of artists and experience designers<br />
are exploring the creative possibilities offered<br />
by new man-machine interfaces to create new<br />
interactive techno organic 3-D forms, structures,<br />
moving images and interactive experiences.<br />
Daniel Sierra’s Oscillate film and the Nike Flyknit<br />
experience by Universal Everything are<br />
notable examples.<br />
Architecture in particular has been amongst<br />
the first disciplines to see groundbreaking<br />
design, which owes more to the complex<br />
future-organic forms commonly generated by<br />
3-D modelling and printing than to any known<br />
historical precedents. The design for the Nexus<br />
Media Center in United Arab Emirates by the<br />
Houston-based studio of Michael Arellanes<br />
presents a uniquely modern urban hyperstructure.<br />
Designed to house a data storage<br />
centre, the building is made up of various<br />
multi-level platforms that also function as<br />
public and semi-public spaces, which act<br />
as cooling towers. The proposed design,<br />
reminiscent of science fiction, provides a visible<br />
manifestation of a virtual space and is thus<br />
a perfect example of the Neo-Futurist style.<br />
Front Cover + Left: [3+4] Candas Sisman, Still from interactive projection project Deep Space Music. csismn.com/<br />
Deep-Space-Music. Above Left: [5] Umberto Boccioni: ‘Unique Forms of Continuity in Space’, (1913). Above Right:<br />
[6] W Magazine, Kanye West: The Transformer by Christopher Bigley. Photographs by Nick Knight. wmagazine.com.<br />
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Top: [7] 3D scanning and motion capture film by Nick Knight for Lane Crawford. showstudio.<br />
com. Left: [8] Maiko Takeda, Atmospheric Reentry. maikotakeda.com. Above: [9] 1913 Earl<br />
Stewart, XYZ 3D Printed Shoe. cargocollective.com/earlstewart.<br />
Top: [10] Nexus Media Centre, Michael Arellanes architectural studio<br />
(USA) for construction on the island of Saadiyat (UAE). m-a-2.com.<br />
Bottom: [11] ‘‘Sam Bland, Googlology. samueljbland.com.<br />
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Top: [12] Daniel Sierra, Oscillate. dbsierra.com. Bottom: [13] Nike, Flyknit<br />
Installation at Milan Design Week 2013 by Universal Everything.<br />
universaleverything.com.<br />
Top: [14] Carston Nicolai, Light Painting. carstennicolai.de. Bottom: [15] Aaron<br />
Sherwood, Still from interactive media installation Firewall. aaron-sherwood.com.<br />
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DARK MATTER<br />
Dark matter represents an evolution<br />
OF the influential ‘New Age Cosmic’<br />
trend and graphic style we covered<br />
in our last report.<br />
This time we see the style take on a darker<br />
and more sinister edge, drawing inspiration<br />
from a broader range of influences, from Gothic<br />
horror and dystopian futuristic imagery such<br />
as work by HR Giger to the more traditional<br />
‘vanitas’ style (the Latin word for vanity is<br />
used to describe art motifs that represent the<br />
meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient<br />
nature of all earthly goods and pursuits).<br />
Dark Matter reflects a new preoccupation with<br />
the dark arts and draws imagery from both<br />
occult and Gothic traditions, often focusing<br />
on emblems and iconography of destruction<br />
and decay.<br />
disseminating this style, and has been widely<br />
emulated not just in fashion but as a lifestyle<br />
look of a generation. Images of his self-designed<br />
Parisian apartment, which has been widely<br />
featured in design magazines and blogs, show<br />
artistic pieces of furniture such as tables with<br />
goat hooves instead of legs.<br />
Another great example of the trend is the new<br />
fabric print for Louis Vuitton by the artists Jake<br />
& Dinos Chapman – some would say they are<br />
the original masters of this style – which is the<br />
perfect embodiment of the continuing influence<br />
of art in the wider creative world from fashion,<br />
to music, to design.<br />
The appeal of Dark Matter is that it is about<br />
finding beauty in the sinister and extreme,<br />
making it feel both modern and literally edgy.<br />
The approach can be characterised by a muted,<br />
largely monochromatic colour palette, the<br />
sharp and spiky shapes exemplified by Sonja<br />
Vordermaier’s ‘Formed Absence of Light’<br />
installation and Cornelia Parker’s awe-inspiring<br />
installation entitled ‘Mass (Cold Dark Matter)<br />
created from a series of suspended pieces of<br />
charcoal from the remains of a church in Texas<br />
that was struck by lightning.<br />
Designer Rick Owens’ signature darkly futuristic<br />
aesthetic has been particularly influential in<br />
Opposite Top: [16] Jake and Dinos Chapman, capsule collection for Louis Vuitton. louisvuitton.com. Opposite Bottom: [17] H.R Giger<br />
retrospective book, Taschen. taschen.com. Top [18] Cornelia Parker: Mass (Cold Dark Matter) installation made from charcoal from a church in<br />
Texas struck by lightning. frithstreetgallery.com. Bottom: [19] DW Simulation 01 Stills from a film by Félix Luque and Iñigo Bilbao inspired<br />
by chaos theory.felixluque.com.<br />
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Above: [22] Maykel Lima, “V”. maykellima.com. Top Right: [23] Mark Pritchard Lock<br />
Off LP released on Warp Records. Album artwork by Jonathan Zawada. warp.net.<br />
Right: [24] Christian Louboutin, Pik Pik sneakers. christianlouboutin.com.<br />
Bottom Left: [25] Les Liquides Imaginaires, Fragrance packaging from Parisian<br />
perfumier. lesliquidesimaginaires.com. Bottom Right: [26] Stutterheim, print<br />
campaign. stutterheim.com.<br />
Top: [20] Rick Owens, A/W 2013 Paris Fashion Week runway show. rickowens.eu.<br />
Bottom: [21] Sonja Vordermaier, Shadow 2. sonjavordermaier.com.<br />
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grid<br />
Grid represents a visual language based around<br />
a repetitive pattern arrangement of squares<br />
or rectangles.<br />
This style’s growing popularity can be seen within the<br />
context of the current minimalist trend, which focuses on<br />
structure and minimal surface detail. It echoes the ethos of<br />
the original minimalist artists of the 1960s and 70s such as<br />
Sol LeWitt whose modular cube/base projects (1967) offers<br />
a direct precedent.<br />
As a visual style, Grid can be seen as an attempt to reject<br />
the idea of style altogether. When viewed collectively, it<br />
represents a distinct approach focused around the idea<br />
of deconstruction and representing the structure behind<br />
individual forms and objects.<br />
Modern examples of the style recall the grid-like foundation<br />
structures of both industrial and 3-D design, offering an<br />
additional contemporary layer of meaning or wireframe.<br />
In this context the grid resembles the blue blueprint for<br />
virtual reality or digital and interactive design giving it a stark,<br />
almost virtual reality feel. Grid manages to be both modern<br />
and timeless and for this reason has emerged as a popular<br />
style and motif in contemporary visual culture over the last<br />
12 months. It has appeared in key works by Antony Gormley<br />
(installation) and Chanel ready-to-wear SS 2013 and continues<br />
to be used by leading art directors, interior designers and<br />
stylists around the world.<br />
Photographer Sølve Sundsbø takes the grid style a step further,<br />
using it to highlight the structural qualities of clothing for an<br />
editorial shoot for Dazed and Confused magazine, turning<br />
the model, actress Noomi Rapace, into a digitised persona.<br />
Designer Alexander Wang takes the Grid theme to another<br />
dimension in his New York store. Wang has installed a rotating<br />
grid-like cage at the entrance to the store to act as a flexible<br />
and changeable exhibition space. It looks more like an artist’s<br />
gallery than a retail space. This large cage sculpture is a<br />
constantly evolving installation, which is used to highlight<br />
unique products. We are seeing this more and more with<br />
retail spaces as designers turn them into experiential spaces,<br />
helping to expand the brand experience.<br />
Above: [27] Sølve Sundsbø: Noomi Rapace photographed for Dazed & Confused. Styled by Katie Shillingford.<br />
dazeddigital.com. Opposite Top: [28] Sol LeWitt, Modular Cube/Base, 1967 nashersculpturecenter.org. Opposite<br />
Middle: [29] Jacqueline Rabun, ring. jacquelinerabun.com. Opposite Bottom: [30] Francesco Raimondi: ‘Frames’<br />
collection, 2013. francescoraimondi.com.<br />
Another fantastic Grid example is the recent Serpentine<br />
Gallery Summer Pavilion in London. Designed by Japanese<br />
architect Sou Fujimoto, the work represents a grid in the<br />
shape of a cloud to create a physical symbol of our everexpanding<br />
virtual world.<br />
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Top: [31] The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion: Designed by Sou Fujimoto, 2013. serpentinegallery.org.<br />
Bottom: [32] Antony Gormley: Stills of installation Breathing Room. antonygormley.com.<br />
Top: [33] Jeongmoon Choi: Birdcage is a colourful grid made of threads in various colours which create<br />
walls of light. jeongmoon.de. Left: [34] Chanel: Ready to wear, S/S 2013. chanel.com. Above: [35] Herve<br />
Van Der Straeten: Console Propagation, 2012 vanderstraeten.fr/en/<br />
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GLITCH<br />
The glitch has emerged as one of the defining<br />
characteristics/motifs of contemporary culture,<br />
celebrating the inconsistencies and faults created<br />
by digital (and analogue) technology. In the last<br />
year we have seen examples of glitch iconography<br />
appear in almost every creative medium –<br />
providing a shorthand for ‘now’ and offering<br />
a useful storytelling device used by artists and<br />
creatives. Taken literally, a glitch is a spike or<br />
change in voltage in an electrical current.<br />
The first recorded use of the word was in 1962 during<br />
the American space program when John Glenn used<br />
it to describe technical problems during the Apollo<br />
space mission. The term ‘glitch’ has gone on to mean<br />
an unlikely or irregular occurrence. Creatively this<br />
“aesthetic of failure” is usually represented by the sound<br />
or image of an audio device or digital technology<br />
malfunctioning, skipping or generally distorting,<br />
computer bugs, crashes or other system errors.<br />
Interestingly, the term was later made popular by<br />
the Matrix film and refers to the effect of a human<br />
experiencing déjà vu caused by machines altering<br />
the ‘simulated reality’ of the matrix.<br />
Glitch is about challenging the perfection of digital<br />
technology and also about trying to find or reveal<br />
the soul in the machine.<br />
The last few years have seen a renewed interest from<br />
artists in capturing or recreating ‘natural’ examples<br />
of glitches or faults created by overused or faulty<br />
analogue or early digital equipment.<br />
You could argue that part of the reason the style is<br />
currently so popular and feels so ‘now’ is to do with<br />
an implicit subliminal nostalgia for our digital past,<br />
with its poor quality video and low download speeds.<br />
The ‘Postcards from Google Earth’ project by<br />
Clement Valla presents an intriguing set of images<br />
of apparent glitches in Google Earth photos. These<br />
photos appear to reveal unnatural faults in our<br />
perceptions – like real life glitches in the matrix,<br />
they hint at ghosts in the (Google) machine. The<br />
popularity of the aesthetic has also increased due to<br />
the appearance of apps such as ‘Glitch’ and ‘Image<br />
Glitch’, which enable the use of digital bugs and<br />
errors as a design feature. In photography the style<br />
has evolved from the basic digital pixelated glitch to<br />
a range of more painterly effects.<br />
More recently we can see the style now infiltrating a<br />
broad range of media, including photography, graphic<br />
design, film and 3-D product and furniture design.<br />
Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez, the US artist and commercial<br />
illustrator, has produced Vinyl Abstraction. This work<br />
is inspired by the incredible opening line to William<br />
Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer’- “The sky above the port<br />
was the color of a television, tuned to a dead<br />
channel”. The artist uses a digital collage technique<br />
created from corrupted scanned imagery. What is<br />
interesting about glitch art is that it is a rejection of<br />
the order and perfection of digital technology and<br />
is about breaking free from the ‘grid’.<br />
We are even seeing ‘glitch’ infiltrating 3D project<br />
design as in the groundbreaking “Good Vibrations’’<br />
storage unit. This is not a distorted digital photo – it’s<br />
a cabinet that’s been intricately carved to look like<br />
one. Created by Italian designer Ferruccio Laviani<br />
for furniture brand Fratelli Boffi, the Good Vibrations<br />
storage unit was carved from oak by a CNC machine<br />
(a computer assisted manufacturing technique).<br />
Above: [36] Clement Valla, Postcards from Google Earth. www.postcards-from-google-earth.com.<br />
Opposite: [37] Ingmar Spiller, NINA. www.ingmarspiller.de.<br />
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Top Left: [38] Pierre Debusschere. pierredebusschere.com.<br />
Top Right: [39] Fratelli Boffi, Good Vibrations Cabinet designed by<br />
Ferruccio Laviani fratelliboffi.it. Bottom Left: [40] Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez,<br />
The Sky is Electric “Vinyl Abstraction” lessergonzalezalvarez.com.<br />
Bottom Right: [41] Justin Blyth, Album artwork for Porter Robinson jblyth.com.<br />
Top: [42] Y-3 S/S 2013 interactive campaign film by Acne Studios. y-3.com/film. Above Right:<br />
[43] Rory Donaldson, SQ Series. rorydonaldson.com. Above: [44] Showstudio, #powershift by<br />
Nick Knight. showstudio.com/project/powershift/feed. Right: [45] Hermès Scarf, designed by<br />
Dimitri Rybaltchenko. hermes.com.<br />
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Below: [58] Pedro Friedeberg “Reclusorio para Colibri”, 2006.<br />
pedrofriedeberg.com. Left: [57] Afrofuture Milan Design Week windows at<br />
La Rinascente, Milan. afrofuture.it. Opposite Below: [56] Projection facade<br />
by Dev Harlan for Adidas Y-3 S/S 2013 Show, New York. y-3.com.<br />
techno TRIBAL<br />
Inspired by contemporary artists and<br />
street culture brands, the techno<br />
tribal trend has been gathering<br />
momentum in the past year.<br />
The essence of the trend borrows iconography<br />
from both traditional and contemporary tribal<br />
patterns and recontextualises them through the<br />
application of technology to create new meanings.<br />
The combination of cultural meaning and repetitive<br />
surface pattern has struck a chord with the mood<br />
and demands of the modern technological era/<br />
society. Part of the appeal of tribal style is that<br />
it is about a rejection of traditional modernism<br />
and minimalism.<br />
The continuing adoption of tribal motifs, from the<br />
modern tribal of Kenzo and the ‘Martian glam’ of<br />
Peter Pilotto, shows how the application of digital<br />
technology can create something that is dynamic,<br />
raw and contemporary. Tribal motifs represent<br />
an authenticity lacking in today’s increasingly<br />
technology-driven creative language.<br />
Motifs as diverse as Egyptian hieroglyphs and<br />
African sculpture shapes link to ancient traditions<br />
of craftsmanship, using designs and patterns that<br />
are sometimes thousands of years old. More recently<br />
these components of the style have been joined/<br />
added to with new tribal art forms such as graffiti<br />
and street art. The ‘Lost Tribes’ project by Erik<br />
Parker is inspired by everything from hieroglyphics<br />
to graffiti tags to create a unique vision of what is<br />
going on now.<br />
Other examples include the influential Afrofuture<br />
exhibition at La Rinascente during Milan<br />
Design Week 2013 which showcased the full range<br />
of techno tribal style. Taking over the entire ground<br />
floor of the store and featuring everything from<br />
African sci-fi to bio design, Afrofuture showcased<br />
the “exciting mind shift in African design and<br />
technology and how it is radically shaping new<br />
notions of design”.<br />
In the last year we have seen fashion design<br />
continuing to draw inspiration from tribal art.<br />
Leading edge designers such as the aforementioned<br />
Pilotto and Kenzo along with street-wear labels<br />
such as ‘Perks and Mini’ aka P.A.M. and Adidas<br />
are all currently referencing the ‘tribal’ aesthetic.<br />
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Above: [59] Blazon scarves by Natasha Coverdale. blazon.myshopify.com.<br />
Bottom: [60] Sydney Street Style. justso2.blogspot.co.uk.<br />
Top Left: [61] Erik Parker, Upswing Dub Project. paulkasmingallery.com.<br />
Top Right: [62] Ingrid Baars, L’Afrique. ingridbaars.com. Bottom: [63]<br />
Adidas House of Mutombo. adidas.com.<br />
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MINERAL<br />
WORLD<br />
Mineral World can be seen as a development<br />
from THE New Age Cosmic trend we explored<br />
in Creative Fuel 2013, which drew inspiration<br />
from new age crystal imagery.<br />
This style can be characterised by a strong interest in<br />
natural mineral effects, surface patterns and materials<br />
such as marble, agate, malachite and other semiprecious<br />
elements.<br />
In many ways the appeal of mineral patterns is that they<br />
have a timeless, eternal quality – absent in today’s digital<br />
culture. Elements of the trend were last seen in interiors<br />
and graphic design in the 1980s and in this sense can be<br />
seen as part of a link to the post-modern style. We are<br />
seeing mineral patterns being re-appropriated and used<br />
in contrasting or unusual and unnatural contexts. For<br />
example, the inclusion of Nike’s Roshe marble sole design<br />
acts as a kind of visual pun when applied to a high-tech<br />
object, such as the shoe. The use of a mineral trompe<br />
l’œil effect can also be seen in the work of experimental<br />
jewellery designer Guinan An who uses latex to recreate<br />
a range of mineral-like effects and finishes. Expect to see<br />
natural mineral textures being used in everything from<br />
fashion to graphic design to household products over<br />
the next year as the trend continues to be influential.<br />
Opposite: [46] Nike Roshe ‘Marble Pack’. nike.com. Above: [47] Acne Studios, Tokyo, acnestudios.com.<br />
Bottom Left: [48] Ill Studio, Graphic Design. ill-studio.com. Bottom Right: [49] Bodo Sperlein, for Dibbern,<br />
‘Carrara’ marble plates. bodosperlein.com.<br />
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Above: [53] Benjamin Aranda and Chris Lasch, Crystalline structures. arandalasch.com.<br />
Bottom Left: [54] Guinan An, Latex Necklace. guinanan.com. Bottom Right: [55]<br />
Bethan Taylor Wood, Table. woodlondon.co.uk.<br />
Left: [50] Barriobajero Marble Sweater. barriobajero.info.<br />
Above: [51] Rachel De Joode, “Subject of Labor” Sculpture. racheldejoode.com.<br />
Below: [52] Accidentels, Electro-plated plastic lamps by Odd Matter Studio.<br />
oddmatterstudio.com.<br />
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BAROQUE<br />
BAROQUE describes a period<br />
or artistic style characterised<br />
by an exaggerated intensity of<br />
emotion and drama and stylistic<br />
detail and ornamentation.<br />
Baroque provides an emerging counterpoint<br />
to the 21st century minimalist trend which<br />
has been so influential over the past four<br />
years. Part of the appeal of baroque is that it<br />
challenges current notions of understatement<br />
and taste and places a renewed attention on<br />
intensity and emotion.<br />
The work of Hawaiian-based fine art<br />
photographer Christy Lee Rogers typifies<br />
the new-baroque style and approach. The<br />
artist employs a number of light effects and<br />
layers of bodies, sometimes submerged to<br />
create intensely emotional works of art that<br />
capture both the beauty and fragility of life.<br />
Pronounced chiaroscuro and dramatic<br />
lighting link the approach to the historical<br />
tradition of the baroque.<br />
There are signs that baroque sensibilities are<br />
infiltrating the world of fashion with several<br />
key designers referencing the style. Alexander<br />
McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana and Givenchy<br />
all showed elaborate religious and gold<br />
encrusted designs as part of their A/W<br />
<strong>2014</strong> collections.<br />
Above: [65] Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini – 1647-52.<br />
Bottom: [66] Katie Eary skateboard. katieeary.co.uk.<br />
Above: [64] Christy Lee Rogers, Reckless Unbound. christyrogers.com<br />
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Top Left: [67] Alexander McQueen, Knuckle Clutch Bag. alexandermcqueen.com.<br />
Top Right: [68] The Campana Brothers, Brazilian Baroque. campanas.com.br.<br />
Above Left: [69] Dolce & Gabbana, A/W <strong>2014</strong>. dolcegabbana.com.<br />
Above Right: [70] Givenchy Patchwork Print Sweatshirt. givenchy.com.<br />
Above: [71] Miles Aldridge, “Immaculee”. milesaldridge.com<br />
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WATERCOLOUR<br />
Watercolour is both an artistic medium<br />
and a stylistic approach. Arguably seen<br />
as one of the simplest and earliest<br />
forms of artistic MEDIA, watercolour<br />
can be traced back to Palaeolithic age<br />
wall paintings.<br />
In a modern context, watercolour is still used to<br />
describe the suspension of pigment in water, primarily<br />
on paper. It’s this tactile, hands on quality that is<br />
drawing a new generation of contemporary focus.<br />
Watercolour is particularly effective in expressive<br />
subtle effects of light and atmosphere. Its softness<br />
and delicacy make it particularly well suited for<br />
illustration. Recent appearances have seen the<br />
effect being used by cutting edge designers<br />
Acne Studios as well as in the Spring/Summer<br />
<strong>2014</strong> collection of Chanel. The delicacy of the<br />
medium and its ability to portray subtle tonal<br />
variations mark it out against the harder-edged<br />
futurism and monochromatic palette of many<br />
of the other key trends.<br />
Opposite Left: [72] Duyos, Spring/Summer 2011. duyos.net. Above Left: [73] Seetal Solanski: Illustration for<br />
Something Else by Natalie Wood S/S <strong>2014</strong>. seetalsolanki.com. Top Right: [74] Fashion Illustration.<br />
lafuerzanegroinspiration.tumblr.com. Above Right: [75] Chanel S/S <strong>2014</strong>. chanel.com.<br />
37 LOWE COUNSEL / FUTURE SIGNS <strong>2014</strong> / <strong>CREATIVE</strong> <strong>FUEL</strong><br />
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Above: [76] Acne, Birdprint Exploded Flower Melange Range. shop.acnestudios.com.<br />
Left and Above Left: [77] Oscar De La Renta ‘Resort’ Collection S/S 2013. oscardelarenta.com.<br />
Top: [78] Ruta Daubure, Watercolour illustration. rutadaubure.com.<br />
Above Left: [79] Mugluck, Swimming Pool. cargocollective.com/Mugluck.<br />
Above Right: [80] Herculaneum, Olives and Orchids. herculaneum.bandcamp.com.<br />
39 LOWE COUNSEL / FUTURE SIGNS <strong>2014</strong> / <strong>CREATIVE</strong> <strong>FUEL</strong><br />
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<strong>CREATIVE</strong> <strong>FUEL</strong><br />
CREDITS<br />
1. Futurism<br />
en.wikipedia.org<br />
2. Sam Bland Googlology.<br />
samueljbland.com<br />
3. Candas Sisman Still from interactive projection<br />
project Deep Space Music.<br />
thecreatorsproject.vice.com<br />
4. Candas Sisman Still from interactive projection<br />
project Deep Space Music.<br />
thecreatorsproject.vice.com<br />
5. Umberto Boccioni (1913) ‘Unique Forms of<br />
Continuity in Space’. moma.org<br />
6. W Magazine Kanye West The Transformer by<br />
Christopher Bigley. Photographs by Nick Knight.<br />
wmagazine.com<br />
7. SHOWStudio Still from 3D Scanning and motion<br />
capture film by Nick Knight for Lane Crawford.<br />
showstudio.com<br />
8. Maiko Takeda Atmospheric Reentry.<br />
maikotakeda.com<br />
9. Earl Stewart XYZ 3D Printed Shoe.<br />
cargocollective.com/earlstewart<br />
10. Michael Arellanes Nexus Media Center. m-a-2.com<br />
11. Sam Bland Googlology samueljbland.com<br />
12. Daniel Sierra Oscillate dbsierra.com<br />
29. Jacqueline Rabun Ring jacquelinerabun.com<br />
30. Francesco Raimondi ‘Frames’ collection, 2013.<br />
francescoraimondi.com<br />
31. Sou Fujimoto (2013) The Serpentine<br />
Gallery Pavilion.<br />
serpentinegallery.org<br />
32. Antony Gormley Stills of installation Breathing<br />
Room. antonygormley.com<br />
33. Jeongmoon Choi Birdcage jeongmoon.de<br />
34. Chanel Ready-to-wear S/S 2013 chanel.com<br />
35. Herve Van Der Straeten (2012) Console<br />
Propagation.<br />
vanderstraeten.fr<br />
36. Clement Valla Postcards from Google Earth.<br />
postcards-from-google-earth.com<br />
37. Ingmar Spiller NINA ingmarspiller.de<br />
38. Pierre Debusschere pierredebusschere.com<br />
39. Ferruccio Laviani Good Vibrations Cabinet for<br />
Fratelli Boffi.<br />
fratelliboffi.it<br />
40. Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez The Sky is Electric “Vinyl<br />
Abstraction”. lessergonzalezalvarez.com<br />
41. Justin Blyth Album artwork for Porter Robinson.<br />
jblyth.com<br />
61. Erik Parker Upswing Dub Project<br />
paulkasmingallery.com<br />
62. Ingrid Baars L’Afrique ingridbaars.com<br />
63. Adidas House of Mutombo adidas.com<br />
64. Christy Lee Rogers Reckless Unbound<br />
christyrogers.com<br />
65. Bernini (1647-52) Ecstasy of St. Teresa<br />
en.wikipedia.org<br />
66. Katie Eary Skateboard katieeary.co.uk<br />
67. Alexander McQueen Knuckle Clutch Bag<br />
alexandermcqueen.com<br />
68. The Campana Brothers Brazilian Baroque<br />
campanas.com.br<br />
69. Dolce & Gabbana A/W <strong>2014</strong> dolcegabbana.com<br />
70. Givenchy Patchwork Print Sweatshirt<br />
givenchy.com<br />
71. Miles Aldridge “Immaculee” for Numéro magazine<br />
Model: Alana Zimmer. Magazmilesaldridge.com<br />
72. Duyos S/S (2011) vogue.it<br />
73. Seetal Solanski Illustration for Something Else by<br />
Natalie Wood S/S <strong>2014</strong> seetalsolanki.com<br />
74. Fashion Illustration<br />
lafuerzanegroinspiration.tumblr.com<br />
Counsel would like to thank<br />
the following people for<br />
their help and support:<br />
Tony Wright, Charlotte Rivers,<br />
Peter Glanvill, Mihir Warty,<br />
Jeani Rodgers, Karen Eriksen,<br />
Leo Walton, Fiona Thompson<br />
13. Nike Flyknit Installation at Milan Design Week 2013<br />
by Universal Everything, Installation Concept and<br />
Creative Direction - Matt Pyke, Art Direction - Dylan<br />
Griffith, 3D Animation - Chris Perry, Developers<br />
- Mike Tucker, Andreas Müller, Sound Design - Simon<br />
Pyke, Executive Producer - Keri Elmsly, Producer<br />
- Captain Blyth.<br />
universaleverything.com<br />
14. Carsten Nicolai Light Painting carstennicolai.de<br />
15. Aaron Sherwood Still from interactive media<br />
installation Firewall. aaron-sherwood.com<br />
16. Jake and Dinos Chapman Capsule collection for<br />
Louis Vuitton. louisvuitton.com<br />
17. H.R. Giger Retrospective book, Taschen taschen.com<br />
18. Cornelia Parker Mass (Cold Dark Matter). flickr.com<br />
19. Félix Luque and Iñigo Bilbao DW Simulation 01.<br />
felixluque.com<br />
20. Rick Owens A/W 2013 Paris Fashion Week runway<br />
show. rickowens.eu<br />
21. Sonja Vordermaier Shadow 2<br />
sonjavordermaier.com<br />
22. Maykel Lima “V” maykellima.com<br />
23. Mark Pritchard Lock Off LP released on Warp<br />
Records. Album artwork by Jonathan Zawada.<br />
warp.net<br />
42. Acne StudiosY-3 S/S 2013 interactive campaign by<br />
Acne Studios Visuals by Pierre Debusschere, music<br />
by Tim Hecker. y-3.com/film<br />
43. Rory Donaldson SQ Series rorydonaldson.com<br />
44. SHOWstudio #powershift by Nick Knight, Alex Fury<br />
and Anna Trevelyan for A/W 2013 ‘Power Women’<br />
issue of The Independent Magazine. showstudio.com<br />
45. Dimitri Rybaltchenko Hermès Scarf.<br />
hermes.com<br />
46. Nike Roshe ‘Marble Pack’ nike.com<br />
47. Bozarth FornellAcne Studios,Tokyo.<br />
bozarthfornell.com<br />
48. Ill Studio Graphic Design ill-studio.com<br />
49. Bodo Sperlein for Dibbern ‘Carrara’ marble plates.<br />
bodosperlein.com<br />
50. Barriobajero Marble Sweater barriobajero.info<br />
51. Rachel De Joode “Subject of Labor” Sculpture.<br />
racheldejoode.com<br />
52. Odd Matter Studio Accidentels Electro-plated<br />
plastic lamps by oddmatterstudio.com<br />
53. Benjamin Aranda and Chris Lasch, Crystalline<br />
structures arandalasch.com<br />
54. Guinan An Latex necklace guinanan.com<br />
75. Chanel S/S <strong>2014</strong><br />
chanel.com<br />
76. Acne Birdprint Exploded Flower Melange range<br />
acnestudios.com<br />
77. Oscar De La Renta ‘Resort’ Collection S/S 2013<br />
oscardelarenta.com<br />
78. Ruta Daubure Watercolour illustration<br />
rutadaubure.com<br />
79. Mugluck Swimming Pool<br />
cargocollective.com/mugluck<br />
80. Herculaneum Olives and Orchids, 2010<br />
herculaneum.bandcamp.com<br />
About:<br />
lowecounsel.com<br />
Follow:<br />
@lowecounsel / @zoelazarus<br />
Contact:<br />
zoe.lazarus@loweandpartners.com<br />
24. Christian Louboutin Pik Pik sneakers.<br />
christianlouboutin.com<br />
25. Les Liquides Imaginaires Fragrance packaging<br />
from Parisian perfumier.<br />
lesliquidesimaginaires.com<br />
26. Stutterheim Advertisement stutterheim.com<br />
27. Sølve Sundsbø Noomi Rapace photographed for<br />
Dazed & Confused. Styled by Katie Shillingford.<br />
dazeddigital.com<br />
28. Sol LeWitt, Modular Cube/Base, 1967. Permanent<br />
collection at Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas TX.<br />
nashersculpturecenter.org<br />
55. Bethan Taylor Wood Table woodlondon.co.uk<br />
56. Afrofuture Milan Design Week windows at La<br />
Rinascente. milan.afrofuture.it<br />
57. Dev Harlan for Adidas Y-3 at S/S 2013 New York<br />
Fashion Week. y-3.com<br />
58. Pedro Friedeberg (2006) “Reclusori para Colibri”.<br />
pedrofriedeberg.com<br />
59. Natasha Coverdale Blazon scarves.<br />
blazon.myshopify.com<br />
60. Sydney Street Style<br />
justo2.blogspot.co.uk<br />
41 LOWE COUNSEL / FUTURE SIGNS <strong>2014</strong> / <strong>CREATIVE</strong> <strong>FUEL</strong>