FASHION MONTH ALWAYS STIRS SOMETHING IN ME. HAVING RUN MY OWN FASHION LABEL AND WORKED ON THE SAME (INSANE) CALENDAR AS THE SHOWS, I REALIZED BACK IN 2015 THAT I HADN’T HAD A SINGLE CHRISTMAS OFF — WE WERE ALWAYS PREPPING FOR THE MEN’S SHOWS IN EARLY JANUARY. SO YES, THERE IS EXCITEMENT AND ADMIRATION, BUT ALSO A QUIET FATIGUE. THE ENDLESS CYCLE OF NEWNESS CAN FEEL AT ODDS WITH THE IDEA OF STYLE ITSELF. TRUE STYLE, I THINK, HAS LESS TO DO WITH ACQUIRING AND MORE TO DO WITH ATTUNING — TO MATERIALS, LIGHT, PROPORTION, AND THE RHYTHM OF OUR OWN LIVES, AND NOT THAT OF A FASHION OR DESIGN CALENDAR.
SO INSTEAD OF A SHOPPING LIST, HERE ARE TEN WAYS TO LIVE MORE STYLISHLY, DRAWN FROM WHAT I’VE SEEN AND FELT THESE PAST WEEKS, AND FROM YEARS OF WORKING WITH DESIGN THAT ENDURES.
1. EDIT RUTHLESSLY
CLARITY IS THE FOUNDATION OF STYLE. REMOVE WHAT NO LONGER SERVES YOU — IN YOUR CLOSET, YOUR HOME, YOUR ROUTINE. MAKE SPACE FOR WHAT MATTERS.
(A PHILOSOPHY AT THE HEART OF PLATFORM D WHERE EVERY PIECE IS CHOSEN TO LAST.)
2. INVEST IN THE EVERYDAY
A BEAUTIFUL GLASS, A SLIPCOVER ARMCHAIR, A WOODEN STOOL FOR LIFE. STYLE LIVES IN REPETITION, IN SMALL ACTS DONE BEAUTIFULLY.
3. HONOUR CRAFT
BEHIND EVERY ENDURING OBJECT IS A MAKER. IRREGULARITIES, THE TRACE OF A HAND — THESE ARE NOT FLAWS, BUT SIGNATURES. IN A WORLD OF UNIFORMITY, THEY REMIND US TO VALUE THE HUMAN TOUCH. OUR SELECTION OF WOOD CRAFTS COMES FROM A MIX OF CARPENTERS AND ATELIERS, COMBINING BOTH NEW CREATIONS AND MIDCENTURY PIECES. SOME ARE HANDCRAFTED FROM VINTAGE WOODS SUCH AS ASH AND PINE, AND SO EACH ITEM CARRIES PATINA, HERITAGE, AND QUIET GRACE.
4. LIGHT INTENTIONALLY
LIGHT SHAPES HOW WE FEEL. A SCULPTURAL LAMP OR THE WARMTH OF A CANDLE CAN CHANGE A SPACE MORE THAN ANY TREND.
(OUR SMALL BUT GROWING LIGHTING EDIT IS BUILT ON THIS IDEA.)
5. COLLECT WITH CURIOSITY
STYLE ISN’T ABOUT MATCHING, IT’S ABOUT CURIOSITY. LET YOUR HOME EVOLVE WITH PIECES THAT MOVE YOU, NOT PIECES THAT SIMPLY COORDINATE. THE MIX IS WHAT TELLS YOUR STORY. EXPLORE AUCTION HOUSES LIKE BUKOWSKIS FOR MIDCENTURY SCANDINAVIAN PIECES. DROUOT IN PARIS IS GREAT FOR A RICH VARIETY OF ESTATE SALES AND MULTIPLE-HOUSE OFFERINGS. CHOOSE OBJECTS AND PIECES THAT ADD DEPTH, PERSONALITY, AND A SENSE OF HISTORY TO YOUR INTERIORS. BUT AVOID CLUTTER!
6. CHOOSE TEXTURE OVER TREND
LINEN, WOOD, GLASS, STONE, SHEEPSKIN, MATERIALS WITH DEPTH AND HONESTY. TEXTURE GROUNDS US WHEN NOVELTY BEGINS TO FEEL HOLLOW.
7. DRESS LIKE YOU DECORATE
THINK IN LINES AND VOLUMES. A CRISP WHITE SHIRT, A SMOOTH CERAMIC, THE SAME RESTRAINT APPLIES. DESIGN IS DESIGN — ONLY THE SCALE SHIFTS. A PERFECT EXAMPLE ARE THE ROW’S MID-CENTURY–INFLECTED STORES, WHERE MINIMALIST TAILORING SITS HARMONIOUSLY AMONG CURATED PIECES BY CHARLOTTE PERRIAND, PIERRE JEANNERET, LE CORBUSIER, AND JEAN ROYÈRE. THEIR CLOTHES AND INTERIORS SHARE THE SAME LANGUAGE — FUNCTIONAL, PURPOSEFUL, AND QUIETLY ELEGANT.
8. USE SCENT AS DESIGN
SCENT HAS MEMORY. A ROOM SCENTED WITH SMOKY TOBACCO OR FIG CAN FEEL MORE PERSONAL THAN A WALL OF ARTIFICE. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING OUR OWN SCENT STORY, BUT MY ALL-TIME FAVOURITE IS THE ICONIC BROWN SCENTED CANDLE FROM HOTEL COSTES.
9. PAUSE FOR BEAUTY
THE MOST STYLISH PEOPLE I KNOW NOTICE THINGS, THE SOUND OF FABRIC ON TILE, THE SHADOW OF A BRANCH ON THE WALL. ATTENTION IS THE FIRST LAYER OF TASTE.
10. LIVE WITH INTENTION
LESS, BUT BETTER. ALWAYS.
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STYLE ISN’T A PERFORMANCE, IT’S A PRACTICE. THE QUIET REFINEMENT OF CHOOSING DELIBERATELY, LIVING ATTENTIVELY, AND SURROUNDING OURSELVES WITH THINGS THAT LAST.