Hasta La Ideas

Friends and family of late fashion designer Richard Nicoll have worked alongside Pantone to develop a colour in his honour, which was used by Roksanda Ilincic at her Autumn Winter 2017 show.

Nicoll Blue was chosen by a group of his close friends and developed by the Pantone Institute before his untimely death last year aged 39.

The soft blue colour was described by Pantone as modest and humble, and is itended to represent Nicoll’s consitent use of blue in his fashion collections.

“Richard was a designer whose talent and character inspired all around him,” said fashion writer Sarah Mower. “He registered his affinity for the
spectrum of blues hundreds of times in the collections he showed in London.”

The shade was revealed in the run-up to this year’s London Fashion Week, where it was used to paint the entrance to the British Fashion Council’s showspace.

A further tribute was made by fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic, a close friend of Nicoll, who opened her Autumn Winter 2017 show with a look entirely in the blue colour.

“For a decade, Richard’s life-enhancing gift for bonding people together contributed immeasurably to the spirit of a whole London fashion generation,” said Mower.

“The visual presence of Nicoll Blue throughout the main fashion week venue is a way to remember and celebrate a great London friend and to convey our respects and eternal gratitude to his family.”

Nicoll passed away in Sydney in October following a heart attack.

The designer, who was born in London but raised in Perth, had relocated back to Australia following the closure of his eponymous brand in 2015.

A post shared by Ana MacCarrick (@anamaccarrick) on Feb 18, 2017 at 3:58am PST

He had subsequently taken up a position as creative director at British retailer Jack Wills, and was reportedly due to start at Adidas in January.

Over the course of his career, he became known for his minimalist approach and sharp tailoring, as well as his consistent use of blue.

He graduated from Central Saint Martins with an MA in womenswear in 2002, when his entire graduate collection was famously purchased by Dolce & Gabbana. Last week, the institution paid tribute to him with a minute’s silence before the MA Fashion show.

The post London fashion designers commemorate Richard Nicoll with Pantone tribute colour appeared first on Dezeen.

African architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has been selected to design this year’s Serpentine Pavilion, which is set to feature a roof that mimics a tree canopy and a central waterfall.

Kéré – who is based between his home town of Gando, Burkino Faso, and an office in Berlin – will create the 17th edition of the annual pavilion commission, which is built every summer outside the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens.

His design centres around an intricate steel framework that extends upwards to support an angular wooden roof modelled on a tree canopy. It is intended to reference the central tree in Gando – a meeting place for local residents.

When the sun in shining, visitors will be able to find shade underneath the canopy, or sit and bask in the courtyard that surrounds it.

But on wet days, rainwater will drain down through an oculus in the pavilion’s roof structure, creating a “spectacular waterfall effect”, before escaping down into a drainage system hidden beneath the ground.

The structure will also take on a different character by night, when its wooden walls become a source of illumination.

“In Burkina Faso, I am accustomed to being confronted with climate and natural landscape as a harsh reality,” said Kéré.

“For this reason, I was interested in how my contribution to this royal park could not only enhance the visitor’s experience of nature, but also provoke a new way for people to connect with each other.”

The architect claims his design is intended to build on the park’s rich history, as well as to respond to the British climate.

“As an architect, it is an honour to work in such a grand park, especially knowing the long history of how the gardens evolved and changed into what we see today,” he said. “Every path and tree, and even the Serpentine lake, were all carefully designed.”

“I am fascinated by how this artificial landscape offered a new way for people in the city to experience nature.”

Kéré has built his reputation on his socially driven and sustainable approach to architecture.

He was the first son of the head of his village, so was the only child allowed to attended school. Subsequently, his first major project as an architect was a primary school for the village, which he raised the money for himself.

Kéré has since worked on several other projects in Burkina Faso, and has also contributed to a number of major exhibitions, including Sensing Spaces at London’s Royal Academy and the Africa show at the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen.

According to Yana Peel and Hans Ulrich Obrist, who lead both the Serpentine Gallery and the nearby Serpentine Sackler Gallery, Kéré’s pavilion will “highlight the power of simplicity by reducing architecture to its core elements”.

“This pavilion will be a space of conversation, collaboration and exchange,” they said. “We share Kéré’s belief that architecture, at its best, can enhance our collective creativity and push people to take the future into their own hands.”

Since 2000, the Serpentine Galleries has commissioned a different architect to create its pavilion each year, offering them the chance to create their first built structure in England.

Previous designers have included Peter Zumthor, Frank Gehry, Herzog & de Meuron and Sou Fujimoto, while last year’s pavilion was an “unzipped wall” by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels.

Kéré is the first architect to not be selected by former gallery director Julia Peyton-Jones, who founded the programme, but left the role last year.

He was instead chosen by a panel that included architects Richard Rogers and David Adjaye, as well as Obrist and Peel.

And while last year’s programme also included a series of four architect-designed summerhouses, this year only the pavilion will be built.

The post Diébédo Francis Kéré reveals tree-inspired design for Serpentine Pavilion 2017 appeared first on Dezeen.

Jacques Cousteau’s grandson Fabien Cousteau believes that synthetic, 3D-printed coral might be the thing to save our endangered reefs. According to CNET, “In nature, coral reefs are made up of calcium carbonate skeletons where tiny organisms called……

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Handmade in Thailand from cotton and brass, Bloom + Grace’s Flamingo tassel drop earrings contribute to social good just as much as personal style. The brand partners with local artisans across the globe, employing people in developing nations. Further……

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A beautiful faucet can really spruce up your bathroom, but what’s even better is one that does more than just direct water. SHUYA is a perfect example of this with its sleek aesthetic and multifunctional approach to an object we use multiple times a day.

It does not just double, but triple duty as one regular tap for washing hands, one for washing hair, and two when placed in the halfway position so two people can use at once. All this with just a simple twist! The faucet also has unique temperature control tech that keeps the flow of water constant and stable once it is adjusted to an exact preferred temperature. Additionally, LED light indicators display the temperature in a convenient, visual way.

Designer: Sun Jin, Lv Mixue, & Jiang Kun