FASHIONABLE FURNISHINGS : Staying True to Form

The “less is more” school of thought is a dominant one in fashion and furniture right now.

The basic formula is to cover a simple structural mass with a smooth coating of solid-color fabric--stretchy, to ensure fit, in many cases. There is no ornamentation, print, or artificially constructed silhouette. Shape comes from the form beneath the fabric.

In fashion, the concept is most apparent in the catsuits that are so popular this season. A long, lean stretch of fabric skims the body and hugs the curves, relying on the wearer to supply the shape. The $254 Liza Bruce unitard (pictured below) from Shauna Stein, Beverly Center, worn without a belt or jewelry, provides a good example of the uninterrupted landscape of a decorously covered, yet completely articulated, figure that this modern minimalism is all about.

A similar design sensibility is seen in the $3,476 sofa (pictured above) that Jasper Morrison created for Palazzetti, New York. It has the same long, clean line and absence of extraneous detail. The linen glides over the undulating curved back. Four matte silver spikes, looking like exposed pieces of the armature, hold the sofa aloft.

“An honest treatment of materials negates ornament as a requirement for modern living,” Morrison says.