Hasta La Ideas

Following her eponymous label’s dazzling debut last fall, London-based fashion designer Holly Fulton has been on one stellar ascent. In keeping with the momentum, her current Spring/Summer 2010 collection delivers a fantastically vivid flashback to New York circa 1930. While floral and animal prints seem to be the dominating trends this season, the Scottish designer speaks to her signature aesthetic with a series of bold prints and geometric patterns—an Art Deco-inspired tribute to iconic silhouettes adorning the Manhattan skyline.

A recent graduate of London’s Royal College of Art and a recipient of the 2009 Scottish Fashion Awards‘ Young Designer of the Year, Fulton took inspiration from artist Eduardo Paolozzi‘s 1964 colorful screenprint graphic “Wittgenstein in New York for her current collection’s tenor, which includes dresses seemingly suited for the opening party of the Empire State Building.

Emblazoned on silk, lightweight wool and even patent leather, Fulton’s hand-drawn prints—meticulously rendered swirling lines, sharp angles and tromp l’oeil details—recall the architectural embellishments of structures like Rockefeller Center, while visually bold clutches and bib-sized necklaces in lucite, crystal and metal show off her talents as an accessories designer (before launching her own line in 2009, she cut her teeth designing accessories at Lanvin).

The Spring/Summer 2010 collection is available in stores throughout Europe and Asia, and can be purchased online through the London department store Browns.

Following its recent stateside collaboration with the chain store Target, Liberty of London continues its resurgence by partnering with more alluring retailers around the world. In addition to a one-month pop-up with Parisian boutique Merci, and a four-piece handkerchief collection for Japan’s Tokyo-based department store, Isetan, Liberty’s most recent fusion is a limited edition spring/summer capsule line for the Milanese concept boutique 10 Corso Como.

The graphic-heavy 26-piece collection, available online as well as at Corso Como’s storefront and Liberty’s London flagship, includes apparel and accessories for both women and men in an updated version of Liberty’s iconic Ianthe print.

Corso Como’s founder and director Carla Sozzani commissioned the American artist (and a close personal friend) Kris Ruhs to reinterpret the Art Nouveau print for a decidedly more psychedelic effect than many of the classic florals gracing this spring’s collections. The resulting fresh and kaleidoscopic eyeful of swirls and teardrop shapes looks just right for warm days ahead.

Button-down shirts, dresses and ties in Italian cotton poplin, as well as swimwear and silk scarves, canvas totes and leather wallets, all come in color schemes of yellow, pink, and cream or black-and-white.

Pick it up online at Liberty of London and 10 Corso Como.

by Michael Tyburski

This video visits a traveling exhibit celebrating the work of Dieter Rams during its stop at the Design Museum London. Director Deyan Sudjic and Michael Czerwinski, who heads up the institution’s public programs, both chime in on what made Rams such an important designer and the show’s scope.

The next stop for the exhibition is Frankfurt’s Museum of Applied Art, where you can catch it from 22 May-5 September 2010.

Lending a little High Street charm to America’s beloved retail chain, Target’s collaboration with Liberty of London hits shelves nationwide this Sunday, but we had the chance to check it out yesterday at a NYC pop-up.

The collection—reinterpreting Liberty’s limited edition Merci line for spring at a lower price point—plays to both brands’ recent successes with similar collaborations. The upshot, floral-printed apparel for men, women and kids, as well as accessories, bedding, stationery, furniture and bicycles done up in paisleys and other patterns by the centuries-old fabric company, fills the space to the brim. Along with blooming flowers (like daffodils and hydrangeas), props, and build-outs all keeping to the theme too, the shop itself has the dizzyingly gorgeous effect of a classic all-over Liberty print.

Running through 13 March 2010, the pop-up is not to be missed.

See some of the shots from our visit to the shop, as well as some photos from Refinery29, in the slideshow below.

To get around Brazil’s convoluted customs procedures and expensive tax laws that govern importing and exporting art, Brazilian collective Autista and British gallery KK Outlet turned to the fax machine to transport art across oceans for a new show called “Ex-Fax Machina.”

At last Thursday’s opening Brazilian artists Ramon Martins, Eduardo Recife, Elisa Sassi and Carlos Dias made drawings and faxed them to London’s KK Outlet Gallery, while U.K.-based artists Andrew Clark, Billie Jean, Mcbess and Jimmy Turrell faxed their completed drawings to Gallery Pop in São Paulo. Flaunting Brazil’s 50% tax on any cultural item sent or received (the strict rules have prevented both NYC’s Met and MoMA from lending pieces in the past), the pieces now hang on both galleries’ walls through 26 March 2010.

To further demonstrate their point, KK Outlet installed a fax machine dedicated to receiving faxes from all over the world. Select faxes will be included in the show and they’ll accept them (at +44 (0) 207 739 0396) through the end of the show.<

Artists’ faxes sell for about $45 in England and $28 in Brazil.

Faxes by the public will also be for sale for $15, which will be donated to non-profit group Viva Rio.