Behind the Design: Fall 2016
Each season, our design team collaborates with talented Artisan designers around the world to bring you an unforgettable collection. This season is no exception. By combining traditional techniques and local materials with on-trend design, our Artisan Partners and designer have created a collection that is uniquely authentic and effortlessly modern. Today on Flourish, we’re interviewing Johanna Robinson, Noonday’s Lead Designer, to learn more about the inspiration behind our latest collection.
Johanna, as Noonday’s Lead Designer you’re tasked with dreaming up innovative styles season after season. Tell us what trends were inspiring you and the team as you worked to bring the Fall 2016 Collection to life.
Absolutely – we always look to the runways to find inspiring silhouettes, colors and moods that will keep our collection looking modern. The first inspiration that we love for Fall 2016 is what we’re calling “Great Expectations.” To get into the Great Expectations mood, just picture yourself wandering through a timeworn mansion or a forgotten Victorian-style garden. The images of vintage photographs conjure up the feeling we’re channeling here. In designing pieces inspired by this “Great Expectations” theme, we thought a lot about heirloom-inspired pieces and dainty, airy designs.
This inspiration is all about romantic meets bold. As we designed the collection, we were especially inspired by runway show from Versace, Gucci, and Marc Jacobs. We love the dainty layering trend that we’re seeing all over the runways, and some of our new delicate styles capture that trend well. They can be mixed and matched and layered to create a look that makes a statement, but still feels light and airy.
We love the romantic details in so many of this season’s pieces. Will we be seeing a lot of that romantic look this fall?
Yes, there are a lot of ornate details coming through in this inspiration, and lots of winter florals. It’s very romantic. In fact, we’re considering that floral design element a peak trend for this fall. So a lot of the jewelry designs in this season’s collection are inspired by natural details. We’re also seeing a lot of antiqued looks on the runways, so that comes through in many of this season’s pieces as well. As far as the color story behind this inspiration, the hues are very pretty and feminine, with a watercolor look.
Some of the other key features of the Great Expectations inspiration are intricate carved details, delicate embroidery (like on our Zardozi Clutch), satin stitching, beading, antique metals, and engraved details. We’re seeing a lot of lush materials like velvet and satin.
There seems to be something for every style in this collection. Talk about the inspiration behind some of the bolder, more modern styles for this fall.
Yes, we’re seeing tons of mod and retro prints on the runways. For our more “mod” styles, we were very inspired by the American artist Alexander Calder, who is most well known for his “mobile” art. We loved the idea of taking Calder’s mobiles—which feature abstract, structural, cleverly suspended shapes and lots of negative space—and mixing these artistic qualities with mod prints.
Another artist that inspired us for this look is Louise Nevelson. She was an amazing American sculptor from the last century who did some really interesting things with layering different shapes and textures to create “assemblage” art pieces.
So what details in the collection capture this “Calder” inspiration?
The overall feel of the “Calder” look really highlights negative space and balance, bold lines with clean shapes, and suspended and pendulous details. We wanted everything to feel sleek and polished this season. We captured this look by using materials that felt really modern, like wood with a smooth finish, resin, and glass. We loved the idea of introducing some brushed metals here as well. The Skyward Necklace from Ecuador, Concentric Earrings from Peru, and Lumiere Earrings from India are great examples of pieces that feature “Calder-inspired” materials.
It’s so fun to hear about the figures from the art world who inspired this look. Where did you draw inspiration from on the runways?
We were inspired by Gucci, Fendi, and Tom Ford for this modern style. We think that the mod styles in this collection will really resonate with our sleek and modern customer, who appreciates calculated movement and practical details. She’s no frills, but still loves bold pieces that make a statement.
Along those lines, the color palette for this inspiration is all about primary colors with a twist. The colors are bright and fun, with lots of geometric and linear patterns and some pops of magenta that our Noonday customer always loves.
Some of the pieces that best capture this “Calder” inspiration include the Tableau Necklace, which features clean lines and color blocking, and the Dadhi Clutch, which features a gorgeous patterned textile.
Thanks for sharing the inspiration behind the Fall Collection with us, Johanna!
It’s always so much fun to talk about the things that inspired us during the design process! I think the Artisans did a really wonderful job interpreting these looks and trends and incorporating them into beautiful designs. We’re very excited about this collection and can’t wait to see which styles our customers love best!
