Flesh, of course, has been on the mind of designers for some years, but nowhere more talked about than in Kanye West’s Yeezy apparel and footwear show for Adidas in February 2015, dramatic in its combination of nude bodysuits, seamless underwear and athletic-inspired streetwear in muddy colours — and perhaps one of the most spectacular front rows ever assembled
Pink has been a key player in fashion for years now evolving from the ultra-girlie into masculine acceptability and the colour of protest, but our new fascination with flesh shifted focus away from millennial and pretty hues into real skin tones and their related textures. That feeling has been exacerbated by the drive towards social ‘inclusivity’ where consumers want to be treated as individuals and considered for themselves no matter what their race, gender, size, ability or faith – hence the rush in cosmetics for an ever increasing number of nuanced foundation creams and blushers, suncare for all skin tones, hosiery and even bandages for humans of all colours.
Of course, our celebration of flesh and the tactile has strong physical connotations – hence the spate of nude selfies (started by Kim Kardashian and Emily Ratajkowski with their mirrored selfie protesting double standards in 2016); the growth of nudity in advertising; explicit graphics such as Bompas & Parr’s typeface Grope Sans, based on male and female genitalia; and even a nude restaurant, The Bunyade in London.
Even in the digital world, touch and tactility has become something of a ‘holy grail’. It’s ‘clicks to bricks’ as more and more companies (including Amazon) that started out as online-only enterprises have started to open physical stores as they recognize that human interaction and physical touch is hard if not impossible to replace.
Finding synesthesia and multi-sensorial stimulus in a digital/virtual world is the next big step for technology. ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, a relaxing mental state characterized by a tingling sensation on the scalp, is playing a key role.
Remember, touch is the first sense humans develop in the womb, even when 1.5cm embryos. But, somewhere in adulthood, what was instinctive to us as children has come to feel awkward and out of bounds less such tactile actions provoke legal action.
Sensing this deficit, a touch industry is burgeoning in Europe and the US, where professional ‘cuddlers’ operate workshops, parties and one-to-one sessions to soothe the touch-deprived. In Japan, a “Tranquility chair” has been developed, its soft arms wrapping the sitter in a floppy embrace. So, we hope that this issue of Viewpoint Design will make its own tactile contribution to redressing the balance.
THE POWER OF TOUCH
Our theme for this issue is ‘Tactility’. We explore what it means to be human in an age where our interaction with the world is frequently moderated by the digital and the virtual, with little room for real contact.
DESIGNING TACTILITY
How can we design for a tactile world? Our four directions unpack different design approaches Flesh/Digital Reality/Messy Play/Luxe Touch
THE MASTERS OF TACTILITY
We profile some of the leading creatives who are embedding tactility into their work Imprimerie du Marais / Yves Béhar / Formafantasma / Visual Editions / Dimore Studio
GOO GLORIOUS GOOKelia Anne takes inspiration from the current obsession with slime and goo, which appeals to children as well as kidults.
MINDSET SHIFTS
We report on emerging behavioural and attitudinal lifestyle trends: Well-centred Living / Changing the Gaze / Slow Skills / Millenial Parenting
HYPER REAL TACTILITY
Brend LW creates curious, texturally satisfying compositions that play with our perceptions of the real and artificial.
MATERIAL INNOVATION
Meet the designers and makers who are radically rethinking materials for a sustainable future Living Materials / Shit, Hair, Dust / Today‘s Waste, Tomorrow‘s Raw Material.
DESIGN NOTEBOOKA visual exploration of emerging design movements across the lifestyle industries and their influence on colour, shape and form 70s Revival / Tubular / Plastic Activist/ Iridescence / Solid Mesh.
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