TATTLE
waking dreams
HOTTER-THAN-HOT DESIGN. IT IS OUT THERE,
burning up the block with one intense have-you-seen-the-latest kind of fervor. All of it available this season, until the
new point-of-view takes over. And for exactly one minute, in
between the hasty transition to Next Big Thing, exists the
euphoria of being current.
The trend is a temporal creature. No relation to the
mythical beast known as ahead-of-the-curve, and yet the
modern tastemakers almost always fancy a date with vogue.
(She’s booked solid, not surprisingly.) Still not everyone
craves gracing her capricious side. Safely beyond this
obsession with Of the Moment Fashion is the work of Hope
Newman and her exceptional textile creations. Her Yomo
line (the Japanese word meaning wool) began four years ago,
giving the traditional scarf a slinky metro makeover.
Where convention would snub the pairing of Merino wool
with silk, Newman delights in pulling these elements together,
taunting any textural dissonance with her captivating alchemy.
Made entirely by hand, scarves and body wraps by Newman
flaunt a quixotic, impetuous blend of both materials: tussah
silk and wool mingle in the quirky-cool Plaid series; on the
Tonal Weave pieces, they luxuriate with a soft dusting of
sequins; and in the swirling Cosmos collection, the two fall
into a long, decadent drape.
While some designs relish the beautiful singularity of silk—
with hand-painted metallics on the Mirage, or gathered chiffon
embellished with cuffs and rings on the Kalahari series—
everything is contemporary and appealing. As is the mode
of a progressive designer, Newman’s particular vernacular
expresses something thoroughly new. Clearly a former life in
graphic design and advertising offers the much-needed fresh
perspective in luxury goods. Not to mention a willingness to
instinctively follow creative tangents and brilliant incarnations
of the present tense: Newman is debuting a home collection of
throws, pillows, curtains and screens that rock her wild and
inventive process of assemblage.
Turned out in her New York studio, the collection digs
deep into Newman’s already funky command of texture:
The highest quality Australian wool, resembling cashmere
in its hand, and the most fanciful silks combine to create
something unlike the archetypal curtains, cushions and soft
goods found en masse. Pictured are throws and pillows from
the very sculptural Luna series, which trade a predictable
aesthetic fate for a riotous and ravishing one. Exactly as
Newman intends it c Arianne Nardo Yomo home collection,
exclusively at DESIGNLUSH, 212.532.5450 designlush.com
