As announced in the previous post, from now on this blog will habitually launch discussion themes which will be the focus of the posts for a short period of time: themes associated with design, architecture, creativity, the market place… and obviously ceramics.
The first theme we wish to concentrate on is the use of precious metal inspired textures in design, in particular gold. A choice that seems to have split the world in two halves: those who see gold as the divine, absolute and infallible material and those who consider it merely as a symbol of opulence, excess and the total desire to be flamboyant.
Gold has always been considered the “cherry on the cake” and golden accessories as something that communicate importance and uniqueness. Being able to work gold is a prerogative of master craftsmen traditions; having and showing gold is a sign of riches and distinguishes those who can from those who “cannot”.
But in the Spring 2007 it seems that we are witnessing a mutation of the aesthetic character of gold. Mainstream fashion is dominated by gold, all one needs to do is look in a shop window display. Actually I was reading on a recent issue of Repubblica Affari & Finanza that every 37 minutes a gold coloured pair of sneakers or other “precious” texture is sold on eBay.
For two famously controversial designers like Dolce & Gabbana gold is the “colour of positivity, of the sun, of luxury and the new dolce vita”, with such a strong communicative potential to even inspire the creation of the first concept restaurant D&G in Milan. Once we had decided to design Gold and Platinum Pareti d’Autore, desired to create a luxurious, extreme object, purposely not for all that could represent an archetype of elegance and absolute prestige but we were well aware of running the risk of falling into kitsch.
Our Pareti are not simply “gold-plated” with a varnishing process: they contain pure 24 carat gold and because of this they are produce in a limited number as if they were pieces of jewelry. We reflected at length on the oxymoron of creating a product purposefully with no obvious market but at the same time fashionable. And we constantly struggled against the unpredictable nature of an expensive material rarely used in the ceramic industry.
Today, many designers choose gold to communicate a flavor of excess of the new riches of the emerging world markets, but at the same time the “old” western bourgeoisie that has always been familiar with it and continues to consider it a prime element of its lifestyle.
So, isn’t gold THE status symbol par excellence, used by the emerging classes of all generations to express their recently achieved social standing? or, over time has it become a cheap and trivial finishing only for those who are happy to express their personality with something shiny and expensive? Is it possible to design elegant and refined spaces using gold, or are we destined to descend into flamboyance?
We will discuss these themes in the weeks to come, listening to the testimony of personalities who had already pondered this issue at length.
Technorati Tags: Gold, DesignTaleStudio, Dolce&Gabbana, D&G, fashion
