DESIGN CLASSICS
What is a design classic?
I feel the term design classic refers to a product or object of design, that
then becomes an object of desire. It is something that carries the style of
an era, a feeling of nostalgia, or is a work of recognised excellence. There is a sense of something familiar and the end result is that it becomes famous or infamous.
The design classic is not a classic just because it has been
designed. External influences have played a big part in its being a
celebrity. Style has a lot to do with it and so too the reputation of its
creator. Something from the hands of a great master (or mistress), is almost
a guaranteed classic, as long as certain rules have been adhered to. These
rules are the simplest ones, those of quality, even in mass production,
respect for materials and truth of design. These elements are at the core of
almost all design movements, filtering down from building design to
everyday utensils.
What shapes a classic?
A great master of design can influence the style of something quite mundane
and turn it into a classic. An example of this is Utility furniture.
Gordon Russell, a furniture maker and designer with an arts and crafts
background, joined the utility furniture advisory committee in 1942. He
brought his creativity to the manufacture of war-time furniture, where
materials were restricted and rationing limited the freedom of design. Out
of these restraints however, he turned what could have been dire into
something of great style.
The Bauhaus movement, namely Mies van der Rohe
and Marcel Breuer had the same principle of only producing high quality,
cleanly designed furniture, where the function determined the look. The
proof is in the pudding as far as the longevity of these designs, most of
them are still in production, or they are the influence for retrospective
copies.
Look at the long list of design classics still available today;
Le Corbusier sofas (1),
the Barcelona chair (2)
by Mies van der Rohe, Charles
Mackintosh's high backed chairs
(3), William Morris's textile designs and
H.Bertoia's (4) and Robin Day's furniture, the list is endless but they can all
hold their heads up to modern day classic designers like Philippe Stark.
(Check out the Europe by Net Classics collection.)
Defining features
The common denominator in all of these classics is a good relationship between the environment and its user. They are tried and tested and proven to work. It is a principal that can be applied to an Alessi angle poise lamp or a sports car. It has nothing unnecessary about it but has distinctive character.
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Le Corbusier
Leather sofa
(1)
Barcelona
chair(2)
Macintosh
High backed chair
(3)
H. Bertoia
chair(4)
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