Image Oursin Restaurant by Jacquemus via Dezeen
Fashion and interior design are two similar fields of style. Both involve the luxury sector, artisanal work, and elements of design. Fashion relates to how we want to look, and interior design connects to how we want to live. They can communicate our preferences, play a central role in our moods, and can act as a holistic look into what our values are and who we want to be. For example, someone with a minimalistic house filled with soft, neutral colors would likely have a wardrobe that reflects this tendency for pared-down style. Similarly, when we look at fashion designers who branch into interior design, we see overlap in style themes and color palettes.
Jaquemus
Take the French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus for example. When he created his Parisian restaurant Oursin, he incorporated the same minimalistic, Mediterranean-inspired elements of design found in his clothing into the restaurant’s layout, with some portions even mirroring the size of his Le Chiquito bag. The French provincial aesthetics found in Jacquemus’s sartorial work and the interior design of Oursin are of chief importance in his signature style. The designer often references nature: Jacquemus showed his SS21 collection in a wheat field outside Paris and the centerpiece of Oursin is a robust vine with tendrils sprawling across the ceiling.
Erdem
Countryside aesthetics are generally prime inspiration for fashion and interior designers, just as British floral wallpaper prints found in homes across the U.K. can also be found in British designers’ archives, including Erdem. This connection between fashion and interior design is due to a mutual concern with context. Designers know that their work exists within a specific place and time, and that a work’s surroundings should influence and play off of it. For British designer Erdem Moralıoğlu, his wallpaper gowns reflect and celebrate British heritage and femininity.
Cárdenas
Likewise, Rafael de Cárdenas, who at one point designed Men’s clothing for Calvin Klein, was also the interior designer for Glossier. He created a branded floral wallpaper for Glossier’s pop-up store in London, so if you’re familiar with Cárdenas’s work, or the inside of your favorite Glossier, then you’d know Cárdenas is recognized for taking natural and cultural elements found around the store locations and implementing them into the Glossier store. The inspiration for Erdem’s wallpaper dress and Cárdenas’s literal wallpaper for Glossier is the same—and is contingent upon the context they’re situated in for meaning.
Rendering meaning in fashion and interior design is a way of making our lives more exciting and fulfilling. When most of us look at our wardrobes and our living spaces, we tend to see some overlap. This is true whether you’re a full-blown maximalist, like Iris Apfel, who loves to wear prints and giant accessories and has a house adorned with velvet couches and ornate decor, or someone like Marie Kondo who is keen on decluttering, minimalism, and wearing soft neutrals.
These styles have cultural meaning and, when we find one or more that suit us, resonate with us on an idiosyncratic level. Figuring out the background of a specific style can help you pinpoint what exactly you like about it. For Iris Apfel, it’s about imbuing life with fun, and for Marie Kondo, it’s about taking care of the things that you have and staying organized. This ability to share the way you see the world with others through both interior design and fashion might be the most significant overlap between the two, and is certainly one worth noting in our everyday lives.