After having started my series of IGTV showroom tours - firstly Ligne Roset, then Roche Bobois and on Thursday the South African Interior Design studio - Studio 19, I reflected about all of the phenomenal pieces that we were fortunate to have experienced in our time and indeed will be for centuries to come. True design is timeless I believe, of course it is subjective; and as a design professional, I have an enormous appreciation for so many incarnations of design, having studied the history of styles. I'm a huge advocate for form and function: good design can enrich so many people's lives; so if good design can improve the world we live in, then presumably bad design can harm it, right? OK so here I'm talking about intellectual property rights and how iconic designs (or any designs in fact) are illegally imitated by others, not only are they of inferior quality and workmanship, they are often cheaper and that is what may appeal to those voyeuristic ones who just "want the look". So in fact the distributors of said imitations are as bad as, if not worse, than the perpetrator who copies the designs.
All three of the design brands mentioned above have had their designs plagiarised: no-one is safe from copy-cats. Whilst doing my research on the Mah Jong sofa prior to visiting Roche Bobois, I was shocked at how many sites popped up offering cheap imitations thereof. During this pandemic, and for the foreseeable future, design brands are now pivoting their business to the online market, and in doing so, many are even sharing their product design CAD files online (without the need to even request permission).
As I mentioned in my instagram post last week, designers across the world are frequently at the centre of copy-cat battles. If imitation isn't regulated, it is nothing short of theft of intellectual property.
Marcel Breuer designed so many phenomenal pieces, but my favourite is the Wassily chair, now solely available at Knoll (and the KnollStudio logo and Marcel Breuer's signature is stamped underneath. The Bauhaus alumni created a timeless masterpiece in the Wassily - marrying tubular steel and black leather creating an unexpected beauty in the form of this iconic chair. The chair's tubular metal had many qualities: affordable, hygenic and possessed an inherent resilience - sadly the design did not find immunity to design theft - again this recognizable masterpiece has been copied beyond belief globally.
My vintage polished chrome and carrara marble 5 branch arc floor lamp, designed by Achille Castiglioni, is one of my favourite pieces and I acquired it from a very dear friend. All arco lamps copies are so inferior in quality, as with all copies, compared to the originals, and in my opinion, having a vintage lamp which may need rewiring is way more sustainable in the long run as well. Nothing quite matches the beauty of vintage: I often wonder who was the first proud owner back in the 1960s? The single Arco lamp for Flos has been in constant manufacture, since its initial debut in 1962 - the design remains unchanged - complete with its signature hole - designed in order to carry the base easily without any problems. I'm a concept geek and the fact that the Castiglioni brothers' design for the single arco was the traditional street lamp, truly resonates with me. If you haven't checked out Flos' instructional video to install the single arco, it's a must watch ;)... click on the link below, I find it quite therapeutic...:
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| Studio 19's elegant Klein lamp, powder coated in a multitude of custom colours with its gilded reflector to add a magical warm glow |
I find it interesting that recently we are again leaning towards craft-produced items, which by definition are harder to mass produce, since they are crafted by artisans, but already these are being plagiarised too. Click her to read an interesting article by WIPO, the specialized UN Agency the World Intellectual Property Organization, on African craft creators. Historically, many designs led on from the Industrial Revolution, and were manufactured on a huge scale, whereby there was an enormous divide between the actual design process (incorporation conception and planning) and the physical making of the product. Design is not simply a process involving mechanized production; design is a means of conveying persuasive ideas, attitudes and values and how things could or should be according to individual, corporate, institutional or national objectives (Charlotte and Peter Fiell). Designers' attitudes, values and ideas are not absolute, they fluctuate. Designers are by design solution-oriented and we solve design dilemmas.
I thought I'd look at some iconic designs which sadly have been copied globally, the originals are easily identifiable though by the discerning eye. Remember "ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES ... REJECT ALL IMITATIONS ...". I'd always rather buy a better quality vintage dress than a new cheaper one, and that philosophy resonates across the spectrum for me.
Aero Aarnio, the Finnish designer created so many iconic pieces: the hanging perspex/acrylic bubble chair - which was designed in 1968 (the year I was born!) is my personal favourite. Below is a shot of Aarnio's bubble chair I mashed together on photoshop 7 years' ago for a piece on Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who were hugely influential in the progression of the design revolution in England. I wrote about how I perceived them to be the first design influencers, following the Great Exhibition of 1851 (even Charles Dickens and his contemporaries were indirect drivers for design). I also think that his Ball or Globe chair has stood the test of time and truly captures the spirit of the Space-Age swinging 60s.
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| Even though I did this years ago, I still love the cheeky photoshop mash-up I did here |
Marcel Breuer designed so many phenomenal pieces, but my favourite is the Wassily chair, now solely available at Knoll (and the KnollStudio logo and Marcel Breuer's signature is stamped underneath. The Bauhaus alumni created a timeless masterpiece in the Wassily - marrying tubular steel and black leather creating an unexpected beauty in the form of this iconic chair. The chair's tubular metal had many qualities: affordable, hygenic and possessed an inherent resilience - sadly the design did not find immunity to design theft - again this recognizable masterpiece has been copied beyond belief globally.
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| Marcel Breuer's Wassily chair |
I have only managed to incorporate the Lounge Chair and Ottoman by Ray Eames in one New York project, but the feeling of euphoria experienced upon the pair's white glove delivery by Herman Miller was magical. The feeling you get when you lounge on this universally-recognized masterpiece - yes pun totally intended - is that of being so privileged to be ensconced in such a luxurious piece of design history. Again, these pieces are copied and copied and copied. How can those people who are buying them not know the difference? If they want to own a piece of history then they should pay for it, not be cheap and buy a replica. The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman will certainly improve with age and with it's built in swivel what's not to love?
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| The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman used in one of my NYC projects |
The most widely copied wallpaper which comes to mind, which I simply adore and used in another NYC project is C W Stockwell's famous Martinique paper (one of my previous blogposts mentions its new colourways launched back in May of this year. The original Martinique banana leaf wallpaper was created by the American designer, Don Loper, back in 1942 for the Beverly Hills Hotel and has BEEN COPIED the world over. To this day, it is one of the most instagram-able designs ever created, and has been an inspiration to the millions of other botanical prints which have and continue to be created. I was so proud to have installed the original, and four years' later it is as stunning, timeless and iconic as the day the installer finished hanging it (and I finished cutting around the leaves!) Since after measuring once, twice, and three times, we were a slither off (and with the price per roll at $300, with the minimum roll order of 3, I had to be creative) so decided to personalise it against the off-black Farrow & Ball paint which the ceiling and other walls were painted in!
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| The edge of my Martinique installation in NYC (with client's daughter en pointe) |
My vintage polished chrome and carrara marble 5 branch arc floor lamp, designed by Achille Castiglioni, is one of my favourite pieces and I acquired it from a very dear friend. All arco lamps copies are so inferior in quality, as with all copies, compared to the originals, and in my opinion, having a vintage lamp which may need rewiring is way more sustainable in the long run as well. Nothing quite matches the beauty of vintage: I often wonder who was the first proud owner back in the 1960s? The single Arco lamp for Flos has been in constant manufacture, since its initial debut in 1962 - the design remains unchanged - complete with its signature hole - designed in order to carry the base easily without any problems. I'm a concept geek and the fact that the Castiglioni brothers' design for the single arco was the traditional street lamp, truly resonates with me. If you haven't checked out Flos' instructional video to install the single arco, it's a must watch ;)... click on the link below, I find it quite therapeutic...:
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| My 5-branched vintage chrome arco lamp |
And for my final piece of the prolifically copied design icons, drum roll - it is the Eero Saarinen tulip table for Knoll. I have a 96" oval dining table, and I get so cross when people ask whether it is a copy - I invite sceptics to examine it if they see fit, as it is very simple to identify a copy. Ours has so far been shipped in a custom wooden crate (at our expense!!) to New York City, then to Kenya, then to Johannesburg... where next?! It has certainly stands the test of time and travel. In fact I'm now coveting its twin brother the Portoro black marble version.
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| Not a brilliant photo, but my oval Saarinen table |
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| Saarinen's new Portoro range of tables |
So that's the end of my brief round up of the most copied iconic designs which I have personal knowledge of.
In the UK, there is an organization called A@ID - Anti Copying in Design - the UK's leading design and intellectual property organization. They aim to protect members by providing cost effective advice by helping members protect their intellectual property and achieve growth through a proactive IP strategy. How amazing would it be if all of the national bodies/organizations involved in protecting designers could join together with WIPO? Having a collective voice is key, and campaigning for design law on a global scale would seem like the way forward to me.
I hope you've enjoyed reading, and remember... TAKE NO SUBSTITUTES, let's honour the origins of a design.
XO
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