We're ending the year (truly an annus horribilis if you ask us) on a muted note but wanted to cast one last look back at some of our most popular posts. 

Fashion and design appear to have ruled in equal measure in 2016, a year that saw us post the lowest number of articles in five years. Have a look below to see who received the most attention this year and click on the name of each post to revisit the original entry. Scroll to after the jump to see who scored the number one position.

10. Monster Mugs
9.  NYFW SS2017 RTW | Jason Wu
8.  Stitched Up
7.  Rich + Compact
6.  Colander
5.  Scattered Sapphires
4.  Golden Ratio
3.  U-Turn
2.  MFW AW2016 | Vivetta

and the post with most hits this year was:

Michele Jorsling

These Sterling silver bangles from Trinidadian jewellery designer Janice Derrick have movable silver and gold leaf elements.

Two & Quarter Photography

When bad news struck this summer, local jewellery designer Rebecca Little turned to her craft for a solution and designed this bracelet as a way to honour her mother Josephine who had unfortunately received a second cancer diagnosis. Made from beads of rose quartz and anchored by a sterling silver rope knot or a sterling silver breast cancer ribbon, all proceeds from the sale of the bracelet will be used to offset the costs of her mother's medical treatment.

The Josephine Bracelet is available via Little's website here.

This newly launched collaboration between Trinidadian chocolatiers Cocobel and artist Brianna McCarthy celebrates the launch of the line's first chocolate bar and has resulted in some of the prettiest packaging we've seen in a long time. Owner Isabel Brash designed the logo and the wrapper with the assistance of McCarthy whose simple, monochromatic graphite drawing brought Brash's muse to life and created the face of 'Cocobel'.

These Robot rings from Trinidadian designer Jade Drakes are made of rose quartz, citrine and other semi-precious stones.

island*atelier

This bamboo handbag by Cult Gaia is a reproduction of a classic Japanese picnic basket.

Photographer Meredith Andrews has made her first foray into the world of fashion with this collaboration between herself and local boutique Atelerie. The limited edition collection of silk-screened clutches feature five different photographic prints of scenes from around the island of Bermuda on a matte or metallic-backed leather pouch with coordinating tassel.

This stunning design is the 2016 Holiday ornament from Alexandra Mosher Studio. The wreath is made of sterling silver set with pink Bermuda sand and combines elements from several of Mosher's previous collections including Bermuda shells, pink sand filled elements, boiler reefs, shiny caviar and wiry melted spirals. The result is a beautiful glimpse of local marine life that can be worn either as a pendant on an Omega-style sterling silver chain or used as an ornament when hung from its silk ribbon.

Outerbridge Jewelry

Long before emoji pillows became ubiquitous, US-based Bermudian jewellery designers Outerbridge Jewelry have been making pieces based on the universal appeal of the simple graphics. Does this pendant represent a high five or prayer hands? That's irrelevant. Whichever meaning resonates most for you at this time of year, we're sure you'll love these emoji pendants as much as we do.

Nettleink

Get a head start on Pantone's predicted colour trend of 2017 with this the Watermarked pillow by Bermudian designers Nettleink who have introduced a new line just in time for Christmas. Entitled the MOOD collection, the textiles have been produced from a series of watercolours that were created in studio.

Indra Khanna

This larger-than-life-sized bronze statue by British-Guyanese sculptor Hew Locke graces the front of the Nadler Hotel in London's SoHo district. Called Selene after the Greek goddess of the moon and of magic, the sculpture is of a black woman floating on a galaxy of stars while offering garlands made from winged masks of the Greek personification of sleep, Hypnos. The classical statue is as much is informed by Art Nouveau, Victorian fairy paintings as by the glamorous drag queens found in the neighbourhood. Locke includes two plants associated with sleep in Shakespeare's plays: the belladonna and the pansy, as well as two different night-blooming flowers known as 'Queen of the Night' - one a type of cactus, the other a type of jasmine in his work. The statue also holds night-blooming dragon fruit flowers named the 'David Bowie' which references that artist's Ziggy Stardust character and his associations with SoHo.

Now for something a little different... Give your Christmas tree a little life and personality (and simplify the decorating process) with these unusual ornaments that look like eyes.  

Image  |   Lladró

The adorable Friends With You for Lladró Holiday Ornament and Tree Topper Collection are handmade decorations made from porcelain. 

colette

How could we have missed the fact that Jeremy Scott has enjoyed a decade-long partnership with Longchamp during which he has produced a number of pop art, limited edition Le Pliage tote bags for that company? We love this version that is available from French boutique Colette and features popsicles in red, white and blue.

Just in time for the start of Movember, are these handmade, wooden "robots" from Argentinean designer Juan Pablo Cambariere which are a whimsical take on the metallic object. Made from beech and lime tree grown in the Jura mountains, the contemporary wooden pieces can be viewed as items of whimsy although their inspiration in rooted in something more substantial. Intended to represent the thousands of immigrants who flocked to Buenos Aires at the start of the 20th century fleeing war, famine, religious and political persecution many of these migrants were anarchists and militants and they grew moustaches as a way of mimicking the upper classes of society at that time and, more bizarrely, as a way of easily identifying and passing codes to one another using their fingers. 

We have been hunting for the perfect bag for months and think we've found it at Maison Margiela.

Bermuda provides inspiration in the most unusual ways. This time, the triangular legs of the Bermuda table and desk by Thomas Eriksson for Asplund are perfectly situated to make seating a large number of people around it easy. The table is made of polyurethane lacquer with a laminate top and lacquered metal legs. The Bermuda table comes in white or grey.

DALI

Portable speakers have become pretty ubiquitous since we started writing about them back in 2012, but we thought these high-end loudspeakers from Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries ("DALI") were worth a closer look as we loved the stylish design of the Katch Portable Speaker. The body is made from extruded aluminium, and holds a 2 x 18W Class-D amplifier powering a pair 21mm soft-dome tweeters and dual 3.5-inch aluminium woofer. The speaker connects over Bluetooth 4.0, has Apt-X support for cleaner audio, runs for up to 24 hours per charge. Adding a natural touch is the built-in sliding leather strap. The speaker delivers rich sound from an impressively compact body.

The U-Series is statement lighting with a capital 'S'. The result of a brief given by FX Ballery, the founder and head designer of French company Arpel, to Belgian designer Sylvain Willenz, the the U-Series is a new chapter for Arpel, which, until that point, had been focusing solely on table and wall lamps.

The light has been designed with precision and manufactured from extruded aluminium. It houses LED technology and can either be installed as a single suspension, hung in grouped arrangements or arranged in linear compositions. The U-Series is suitable for residential and commercial settings and the intensity of the light can be adjusted by means of a mobile phone or tablet application. The light is the perfect combination of Willenz's graphic approach to design and Ballery’s aim to develop LED lighting with timeless appeal.  It is currently only available in black or white.

These metal and porcelain vessels are the result of a collaboration between architect and product designer Natascha Madeiski and silversmith and jewellery designer Linnie Mclarty. Inspired by  an archaeological dig in Lebanon, the Now and Then collection comes in four sizes and features a subtle palette of matt colours including an earthy salmon pink, vibrant green and calm grey. Each rounded, lidded container is made from porcelain using a slip-casting method and features a metal accessory (brass spoon, sieve, fork) or handle. The designers consider the objects to be anthropomorphic in nature, like a platoon of soldiers guarding their contents.

peca studio

The Pita daybed from Peca studio is a spare, but striking-looking, piece of furniture. Made from  turned oak wood, the seat comes with triangular leather cushions that are accented by a hand-embroidered bolster cushion made of maguey fibre yarn from Colotlán, Jalisco, the birthplace of the ancient technique of piteado from which the sofa derives its name.

We love a structured handbag and must confess that were weren't thrilled when the bucket bag became the "it" bag a few seasons ago. The trend was led by Mansur Gavriel, who have switched gears and return with this richly-coloured collection of nine new bags including the ladylike top-handled ones pictured here. 

We've had our eye on the water pitcher by Soma which is available from one of the high-end grocers on the island for a while now, so it is no surprise that we were drawn to the Soma glass water bottle, a fairly new addition to that company's collection.

Made from high quality, shatter-resistant glass with a protective silicone sleeve, the Soma Bottle is perfectly designed to fit into a bag or cup holder. It is lightweight, durable and comes with a  leak-proof bamboo cap that is made from a renewable resource. The best part? For every Soma Bottle purchased, a donation is made to charity to support safe drinking water projects globally. The Soma Bottle comes in white, grey, mint and eggplant. 

Knitwear designer Aisling Camps got the inspiration for her latest collection from the caves on Gasparee Island, Trinidad which are home to natural limestone formations. She incorporated these elements into her designs: stalactites became fringing, while cables took the form of calcified deposits. Nubby, textured merino was juxtaposed with slick monofilament to mimic wet rock or mossy mohair and everything was rendered in earthy colours.

The Bradley Hooper Side Table from Dowel Jones is made of steel rod and spun steel. Designed and manufactured in Australia, the table is part of a series of stools, coffee tables and side tables characterised by their concentric rings and bottle-like shape. The Bradley Hooper side table features a tray top lined with cork and is available in a wide range of finishes.

Art as fashion or fashion as art? That's the question this collection from Russian fashion designer Glagoleva Olya seeks to pose. 

Olya's eco-friendly line Artist At Home tapped Lisa Smirnova, a contemporary artist whose medium is embroidery, to create a line that takes its inspiration from from the workwear of painters. Every item of clothing is unique, decorated as they are with the delicate hachure embroidery that reflects Smirnova’s intricate style and which transforms the garments into distinctive, wearable pieces of art. Olya uses cashmere, organic Indian hemp, cotton and denim as well as vintage towels and blankets in her creations, each of which can take up to 100 hours to create.

Prepare yourself for cuteness overload with these deer and sheep stools by Japanese design company Kamina&C. Made from European oak and American walnut with nylon seat fabric for durability and ease of maintenance, the horns or antlers double as backrest or can be used as hooks.

Simple styles made from outstanding fabrics are the markers of the designs of Sindiso Khumalo, a South African textile designer currently living and working in London. That the Central St Martins graduate studied architecture at the University of Cape Town is evident in the use of linear and geometric patterns in her designs.  Khumalo founded her eponymous label in 2012 with the intention of creating modern, sustainable textiles and she works closely with non-governmental agencies and workshops around South Africa to develop and manufacture the handmade textiles that are used in her collections.

The Gabo G side table by designer Cemal Çobanoğlu creates beautiful three-dimensional, geometric shadows and illusions. Named for the constructivist sculptor Naum Gabo, the table's top is made of tempered glass and rests on iron legs.

How does a portrait photographer create an intensely personal series without setting foot in front of the camera? Meredith Andrews uses models as surrogates in 'Island Obscura', a new show that opened at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art at the end of September.

In something of a departure from her usual style of portraiture which often features subjects posed formally while looking directly at the camera, this new series sees the models, who are stand-ins for Andrews herself, striking pensive or playful poses with their identities hidden or obscured. Andrews views the series as an expression of her Bermudian experience. The locations were carefully chosen for their importance to Andrews personally, and she has given prominence to the surroundings: lush green vegetation, as abundant but often not given as much due as the blue waters that surround the island, gets a starring role while the models are either supporting characters or literally form part of the backdrop. This desire to blend in and go unnoticed is the common and recurring theme, and the models are often overlaid with images of plants or are photographed holding mirrors which are used to reflect the surrounding environment back to the observer and to create a form of camouflage. Adding to the natural feel, the pieces were printed on birch wood and its swirling grain added texture and depth to the images. 

Image  |   @saya.s.a.

We like the simplicity of the monochromatic versions of these premium collection bottles from Thermos. Available in Japan.

This dressing table by Zoë Mowat Design for EQ3's Assembly collection takes its inspiration from the Art Deco movement and is an exploration of geometric composition. A narrow floating glass shelf offers a surface to display lotions, perfumes or jewellery, while a large drawer keeps the less glamorous items tucked away. A sector-shaped mirror adds a welcome curved line and pops of colour highlight the various elements. The table is made of MDF with a glass frame on metal legs.

Marcus Tondo / Indigital.tv

Always one of the last shows and still one of our favourites, at Moncler Gamme Rouge creative director Giambattista Valli looked to the traditional French Gendarmerie uniform as inspiration for a strongly patriotic collection as models navigated piles of sand and rocks perhaps intended to evoke the Sahara.

Valli's tribute was as unsubtle as they come: the palette was restricted to the national colours and one jacket mimicked the Tricolour almost literally. Outfits featured embroidered bees, a Napoleonic symbol, and elements of historic ceremonial dress were recurring. Several models wore the kepi, a cap with a flat circular top and visor more commonly sported by the military and capes were deemed to be appropriate outerwear. A print of architectural plans of 18th century Parisian buildings was also used to good effect. Given all of the negative events that have happened in that country recently, the need to create some national pride was understandable, timely and a good way to close the week.

Monica Feudi / Indigital.tv

Like Thom Browne, Miu Miu featured bathing ladies, but while Browne's muse lounged poolside, here Miuccia Prada looked to the sea for her inspiration. Her colours and patterns were unequivocally mid-century modern in their look and feel and the flower prints and abstract art elicited a certain proper 1950s glamour. Hats were bathing caps adorned with flowers and these proved to be the perfect accompaniment to modest coat dresses and swimwear. Almost every look was belted or had some feature to draw the eye to the midsection. Accessories, such as the oversized, geometric sunglasses, were on point. The bags were standouts as were the shoes. Ranging from platforms to slides, several of the thick-soled sandals were made of a translucent material and the stacked platform made it appear as though the models were walking on waves. Seaside motifs could be found throughout the collection.

Mira Mikati

It's been an irregular month of shows and Paris (which closes today) was the perfect example. There have been several high-profile events including Chanel and Alexander McQueen, but not many of the collections as a whole grabbed our attention. So, to bid farewell to the city, we thought we'd start by featuring this collection from Mira Mikati which saw the tropics reinterpreted in a fun and lighthearted way. We loved the cut-out treatment of the toucans on skirts and trousers and, of course, the star pattern. The clothes were playful but not juvenile and featured embroidered chimpanzees and inspirational quotes. The result was an easy, comfortable and relaxed but still stylish collection.

Filippo Fior

Rahul Mishra chose the rainforest (as seen through the eyes of painter Henri Rousseau) as his inspiration. The exotic space was translated as red, black and blue gingham check, frills and layers. Shoulders took the spotlight and we loved the delicate embellishments and embroidery on bomber jackets, blouses and tops that highlighted this area. Sheer shirts were half-shrugged off shoulders and cut-outs were accented by frills and pleats. A pretty and whimsical collection.

Umberto Fratini / Indigital.tv

Time to compare and contrast.

With the departure of Maria Grazia Chiuri to Dior, this collection marked the first solo offering of her former co-creator Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino. Piccioli took his inspiration directly from iconic designer Zandra Rhodes, however as with Dior, we saw etherial and heavily embroidered dresses and gowns. His colours and materials felt richer and included pleated velvet and lace in pinks and reds, black and chartreuse. Piccolo accessorised his clothes with miniature bags and bold earrings in the form of daggers.

Yannis Vlamos/Indigital.tv

We're going to post our reviews of Dior and Valentino back-to-back so you can draw your own conclusions regarding the similarity  (or not) of the aesthetic of the two Houses.

Maria Grazia Chiuri put on her first show for the House of Dior since leaving Valentino, and the sport of fencing was an obvious, if unusual, reference. The first few looks featured breastplate designs and jackets that were immediately recognisable as having been derived from the uniform of the sport. This was a the muted collection and no bright colours were shown. Unlined, sheer skirts layered over modesty shorts and obvious corsetry and boning were two staples used throughout. The light and airy skirts were often paired with more substantial sweaters and knitwear as a counterpoint.

Conspicuous branding appears to be making a comeback in Paris with several designers prominently displaying their name on clothes. At Dior, this was done by the means of athletic tape that was used to border straps, hems and even shoes and served as a direct reference back to the sport of fencing which Grazia Chiuri chose as a starting point. Our favourite looks included the tarot-card-inspired evening gowns with their tulle skirts. These dresses were covered in symbols of the dark arts and witchcraft, astrological signs and four-leaf clovers. In this time of change for the House of Dior, perhaps Grazia Chiuri was looking to the heavens for guidance.

Yannis Vlamos/Indigital.tv

For Rochas, Alessandro Dell’Acqua relied on 1940s silhouettes and airy, voluminous skirts to set the mood for Spring. In colours that were inspired by artist Erwin Blumenfeld, he toyed with a form of colour-blocking mixing marigold, periwinkle, blush pink and lilac. Pleated gowns were paired with crew-necked sweaters and everything was accessorised with elbow-length gloves in contrasting hues. 

Dice Kayek

A standout collection, this time from Dice Kayek another fairly new name. Co-founder and creative director Ece Ege was clearly obsessed by volume and layers. He rendered asymmetrical tiers, pleats and ruffles in denim and Swiss cotton delicately threaded with pearls.

Yannis Vlamos/Indigital.tv

We aren't always fans of Margiela, but we liked this somewhat inconsistent collection full of unusual shapes and textures. Deconstructed elements including raincoats that had been turned inside out, a neoprene wetsuit peeled to the waist to become a skirt or a chunky sweater-turned-shawl were clever touches.

Maticevski

After a slow start, Paris Fashion Week is up and running with shows from all of the usual suspects. We have decided to start with a less familiar name: Toni Maticevski, the Australian designer who is perhaps better known for his bridal gowns. His collection for Spring featured highly sculptural and well-crafted garments. Maticevski manipulated traditional fashion silhouettes to create feminine shapes that were a wonderful fusion of art and fashion.

Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv

Another vast collection from Milan and another one of several Italian collections that have their eye on the tropics for Spring.

No great departures from the House's usual aesthetic in terms of overt Italian references and, in particular, references to the South of the country.  This time however Dolce + Gabbana appeared to poke fun at the usual stereotypes and tropes found in Italian culture: a pizza advertisement was used on a minidress, gelato and various shapes and kinds of pasta formed the print on several dresses, while fish and flowers fought for equal billing on yet others. Of course everything was overwrought with embellishment but this was often tempered by the addition of a simple logo t-shirt. Our favourite looks were the ones that incorporated oversized, multi-coloured metallic paillettes on coats and dresses.

Kim Weston Arnold / Indigital.tv

A collection that reflected a lightness and old-world glamour from Ermanno Scervino where embroidered lace or silk organza dresses were adorned with flowers and topped with military velvet devoré  jackets.

Kim Weston Arnold / Indigital.tv

A huge collection from Antonio Marras who showed more than 70 pieces in this collection that was inspired by Malick Sidibé’s photos of nightlife in Bamako, Mali in the 1950s and 1960s.

Marras opened the show with denim pieces and Shibori prints that were layered and patched with dévoré lace. The next set of clothes were based around a gingham print that was mixed with coordinating florals and embellished with rose embroideries, raffia flowers and recycled metal pellets. The looks that closed the show included reconstructed, surplus Italian army parkas and other hybrid prototypes that had been made during the creation of the collection.

Umberto Fratini / indigital.tv

The Italians seem to be enamoured by a rustic view of the countryside (also see Daniela Gregis)  embodied by Blumarine's collection. Designer Anna Molinari sent simple but structured day dresses in muted tones of green, earthy brown and blacks down the runway. Eyelet lace and broderie anglaise added a lightness which Molinari mixed with raffia or straw accessories for texture. 

Kim Weston Arnold / Indigital.tv

We didn't want to like this collection, but we did. Versace eschewed the glamour of red carpet dressing and focused on relaxed dresses and separates in a deep, rich palette. They showed parkas, leggings and t-shirts threaded with drawstrings or held together by snap closures in technical fabrics.

Umberto Fratini / Indigital.tv

Perhaps taking its inspiration from the recently-completed Rio Olympics, Max Mara's show was athleisure with a tropical twist - what we would call Tropical Modern. The House cited the works of Italian-born architect Lina Bo Bardi who worked out of Brazil in the 1960s as its inspiration and who proved to be the perfect embodiment of Italy and Brazil. The models appeared from behind a brutalist concrete wall and traversed a long runway interspersed with greenery. The clothes consisted of coats, parkas and hooded jackets, jumpsuits made of technical fabric in a lush tropical prints often with grass-like 3-D texture.

Monica Feudi / Indigital.tv

For spring, Prada was a retrospective of sorts as designer Miuccia Prada took comfort in past while referencing elegance in the present. She showed chinoiserie pyjama suits, art deco prints and an abundance of ostrich and marabou feathers that were carefully chosen to add contrast. The delicate material showed up on sleeves, shoes and even handbags.