Pleats are one of the best ways of creating interest without resorting to patterns and print.

We are a bit behind with this as the event ended on Sunday, but we still wanted to recognise the island of Grenada’s achievement of having taken part in the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia for the first time in the island's history after three consecutive appearances at the Art Biennales in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

The theme for 2021 “how will we live together” encouraged architects to imagine spaces where people can generously live as a community and Grenada participated as an official National Pavilion. Entitled 'COethos', the exhibition presented the recently completed parliament building located at Mount Weldale, overlooking the capital of St. George’s, the Carenage and Grand Anse. It was curated by Marco Ballarin, Stefano Tornieri, and Massimo Triches of the Babau Bureau Collective and led by local architect Bryan Bullen, co-founder of the Caribbean Office of Co-Operative Architecture (COCOA).

Designed by Benjamin Hubert, this innovative, layered mask takes its cue from athleisure in a bid to encourage use on the move.

Balls, Meredith Andrews

Bermuda National Gallery is currently holding 'Flotsam + Jetsam: The Cost of Modern Living', a solo exhibition by Meredith Andrews in conjunction with Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB), one of the oldest charitable organisations on the island. As part of the fundraising programme for the organisation, Andrews is showing nine archival prints, the proceeds from the sale of which will benefit both the Bermuda National Gallery and KBB. In addition to the pieces on display, twenty fine art prints of each artwork numbered and signed by the artist will be available for purchase from the Bermuda National Gallery exclusively, and can be ordered via their online store.

The waist is the latest erogenous zone and cutouts create the illusion of curves.

Our last feature this week on Spanish designer Jaime Hayon has been languishing in our drafts since December 2020 so fittingly it's an older piece. Hayon created the Monkey side table in 2015 for furniture brand BD Barcelona.

The simple, graphic Smile Stool designed by Jaime Hayon for Benchmark is a joyful and expressive piece.

We've just realised we have quite the backlog of Jaime Hayon posts for some reason, so we have decided to get them out of the way... by featuring all of them this week. 

Known for his whimsical and fantastical creations, Hayon has produced a limited edition collection of decorative objects with renowned crystal manufacturer Baccarat.

 Macrame, crochet and textured weaves.

Tokyo-based Nendo was one of seventeen design houses invited by Dior to reinterpret the Medallion chair as part of a special exhibition at the 2021 Salone del Mobile during Milan Design Week.

Long time ia favourite Kelly Wearstler (you can read what we wrote about her all the way back in 2009 here) has launched a new collection of furniture, décor, and lighting called Transcendence.

The first solo show on the island of Bermudian artist Gherdai Hassell is currently underway at the Bermuda National Gallery entitled I Am Because You Are. Hassell was driven by an exploration of her heritage and examines the impact of slavery in Bermuda. 

A sign of optimism or evidence of scarce resources, either way hemlines will be high next season.

For his graduate project from the Tokyo University of the Arts, Ryunosuke Okazaki created a collection consisting of three couture dresses in bold colours and shapes titled JomonJomon that are informed by Japanese Jōmon-era pottery and Shinto, an ancient religion that originated in Japan. 

Located in the mountains of Trinidad and Tobago is the Saut D’Eau House, a serene, open plan residence designed by Ackee Workshop to suit the lines and contours of the land.

 

These creations of Thai-born, Australian-based ceramicist Somchai Charoen were part of the Preliminary Structures exhibition held in Melbourne earlier this year featuring seven contemporary makers and designers working in moulding and casting techniques across ceramic and glass disciplines. 

She Changed the World (Detail), Alice Coutet

We have been featuring the Charman Prize consistently pretty much since its inception, and this year marks the 10th iteration of the show. We often approach it with more than a little trepidation because Bermuda is the muse and for an island that is only twenty-one square miles it can often be a stretch to come up with new and interesting ideas. 

Fables, fairy tales, cherubs and fantastical creatures are scattered throughout this strong collection from Patou featuring bucket hats, winged collars and dandified touches such as the extended lace cuffs. Prints were sourced from the archives of the great French artist-illustrators Christian Bérard and Gustave Moreau.

Some of the colours and fabrics used by Alberta Ferretti in this collection for Spring 2022 were not terribly typical of the season, but she used a butterfly motif that is evocative of rebirth and newness so perhaps that was her one concession to the mood. 

Beading and broderie anglaise combined with streamlined tailoring evoked a modern femininity at Erdem where both men's and women's looks traversed the runway seamlessly. There were hints of Holly Golightly in the large-brimmed hats and narrow silhouettes but our favourites were the black-and-white sketched floral print on dresses, shirts and trousers. 

Although not conventionally beautiful, this collection from Richard Malone felt too important to ignore. His use of ruching and frills, of tailoring and draping made for an incredible mix of looks.

 

Nothing groundbreaking here, but evocative of a mood is this collection by Emilia Wickstead which manages to reference springtime in the English countryside and a bygone era.

The minimalist and faint hearted need not apply, but there’s no denying that there was something beautiful and uplifting in this collection.

What to do when you are best known for one iconic item and it is expected that this piece will feature heavily in any collection you show? Riccardo Tisci tackled this problem head on by effectively taking the Burberry trench apart.

This distractingly shot collection from Edeline Lee was nevertheless still worth a look. Lee featured a 1940s influenced collection with tiers and exaggerated bows, flounces and frills and a modern take on colour-blocking. 

We love the tribal elements that were found throughout this collection from Altuzarra. It featured midi-length skirts, dresses and trousers combined with kaftans and overlaid with crocheted vests or bodices.

Bibhu Mohapatra uses lush greens and floral motifs to convey the hope and regeneration of the upcoming season. Fringing, pleats and padding add interest while delicate beading creates luster and shine.

 

With its voluminous silhouettes, bright colours and wonderful floral patterns, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia at Oscar de la Renta showed an uneven collection.

 

Possibly the most atypical Tory Burch collection we have ever seen with her usual ladies-who-lunch aesthetic eschewed for something distinctly more modern and streamlined.

We are going to have to play catch up so we'll take a flying look at the last few New York collections that caught our eye before heading across the Atlantic to London.

Pretty and wearable with just enough interest to keep the pieces from looking like you bought them on the high street (not that there's anything wrong with that), that Ulla Johnson does not stray far from her trademark print-and-pattern mixing is no surprise when she continues to employ them to such great effect. This Spring she turns things up a notch with a collection that references safari and travel to exotic locations with thoughtful touches of raffia, woven bags and texture. 

A sleek, modern collection lightened considerably by the use of whimsical touches including beaded and other fringe on cuffs of shorts, dangling from sleeves and marking the tiers of dresses and skirts. After months of being locked down, this was another collection that took travel as its inspiration fairly literally. 

Some of our time unexpectedly freed up over the summer, so we figured why not get back to doing what we love. And and what better way than to jump right back in with coverage of one of the most hectic times of the year: fashion month. While New York kicked off this week and our coverage of some of the more noteworthy shows from that city will follow shortly, we wanted to make a quick pitstop in the East to highlight this really striking collection from Japan.

This unique project by Trevor Horne Architects was conceived and executed for an artist based on the island of Trinidad. 

Diario has taken the popular, traditional Mexican market bag and translated it into a contemporary, everyday bag that can be used for shopping, carrying personal objects or whatever it fits within.

With the effects of global warming and man made pollution taking centre stage in recent years, designers are finding ways to change their manufacturing processes to lessen their impact on the environment. One such designer is Moisés Hernández who, in the production of his Grana chairs, has replaced ecologically harmful synthetic paints with a dye made from insects. 

Something beautiful has been created where the past and the future collide.

The first newsworthy collaboration of the year has to be the Simone Rocha x H&M collection which is scheduled to drop on March 11.