YSL
designer jewellery
white shirts
upcycling
floral-patterned
appliances
Upcycling
Think of it as upmarket dumpster diving. The "upcycling" of refuse such as auto scrap, old fluorescent tubes and even beach debris into stylish lighting and furniture gained mainstream currency this year, especially in Canada, where firms such as Castor and the Brothers Dressler garnered much ink for turning trash into design treasures. Who knew that landfills could be a decor resource?
*****
H&M
faux bois
Diesel textiles
'ethnic' design
Lindsay Lohan
leggings
H&M
We've been weary for a while of fast fashion, much as we have been guilty of indulging. But Sweden's behemoth clothing chain retained cred longer than most with its high-profile designer collaborations. Following on the heels of Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Roberto Cavalli, this year it was Rei Kawakubo, the long-time visionary behind Comme des Garçons. Too bad the inferior fabrics equalled avant-garde gone awry.
*****
Samare
One of the brightest debuts on the Canadian design scene this year was Samare, a Montreal collective whose first line was called Adaware. Members Laurie Bedikian, Mania Bedikian, Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte and Patrick Meirim de Barros put a sleek new spin on traditional Canadian motifs and materials, including babiche (rawhide webbing). Their scarlet Mountie stool has already been acquired by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
MacBook Air
According to one reviewer, it has "the heft of a leather portfolio, the dimensions of a design magazine and the cool-to-the-touch exterior of some exotic metal." Could Apple's silver-coloured, super-thin MacBook Air, introduced in January, be the sexiest computer ever? We say yes.
Floral-PATTERNED appliances
In a year that saw beautiful floral patterns on everything from laptops to flip phones, we especially liked LG's new flower-patterned refrigerators studded with - no kidding - Swarovski crystals. Outfitted with soft-touch LCD door panels and ion-coated antibacterial interiors, the fridges marked a new high point in the marriage of beauty and function.
Tony Duquette
Nearly a decade after his death, the designer whose interiors were as rich and theatrical as his sets for Broadway and Hollywood is finally getting his mainstream due. Last year, a monograph by Wendy Goodman was published; this year saw the launch by Baker of a 19-item furniture line called the Selected Works of Tony Duquette, reproductions of pieces that were available during his lifetime only by commission.
Hermès Toronto
When the new Hermès boutique opened in Toronto last summer, it was widely admired for its chic interior design by Rena Dumas. But the real visual treat was outside, where storefront cladding mimicked the luxury chain's trademark orange boxes. In a city not known for striking streetscapes, the temporary installation was a charming attention-getter.
La Pigalle chair
Furniture designers don't usually take kindly to knockoffs, but Philippe Starck and the manufacturer Kartell reportedly gave their blessing to Montrealer Alain Forcioli's La Pigalle chair, a colourful riff on Starck's transparent Louis Ghost. By cleverly slapping ornate faux tufts and gilding onto its back and legs respectively, Forcioli created an elegant new emblem of our post-postmodern age.
Designer porcelain
Formerly fusty porcelain was the design medium of choice this year, inspiring boldface designers such as Hella Jongerius, Studio Job and Jaime Hayon to produce some of their most innovative work to date. Among the highlights were Hayon's delightfully surreal Fantasy figurines for Lladro (shown) and Jongerius's Home Props line of nature-inspired tableware.
Tools for Living
Even if Design Within Reach's modernist furniture can sometimes be out of reach price-wise, the California-based chain gave us reason to cheer with its Tools for Living line of affordable smaller wares. Two new stores - in New York and L.A. - offer everything from stoneware vessels from France to miniature bowling sets. If you can't make it south, check out dwr.com.
Dior cellphone
