ALL WE CAN SAVE
Image: Courtesy of Getty images
Li Edelkoort is a trend forecaster, writer, and podcaster, who has also worked as a publisher, humanitarian, design educator, exhibition curator, and was Dean of Hybrid Design Studies at Parsons in New York, where she founded a Textile Masters and established the New York Textile Month Festival.
Often regarded as an activist and champion for change, in 2020 she founded the World Hope Forum, to inspire the creative community to play their part in rebuilding a better society. In 2022, Edelkoort collaborated with Polimoda, in Florence, to establish an innovative new Textile Masters, called From Farm to Fabric to Fashion.
Image: Li Edelkoort. Courtesy of oforigin.
This past weekend, Edelkoort ran a series of webinars announcing her forecasts for 2024. Hers is a vision profoundly informed by what she’s calling ‘The Great Disruption’. She writes:
‘In the wake of the pandemic, the Great Disruption is on its way to thoroughly change society to its core, transforming all aspects of life and design in its wake, rejuvenating culture from a most radical point of view. People are migrating from urban to rural housing and resigning from their jobs to become autonomous, leading to clothes that are comfortable and constructed at the same time. Choosing craft as their pastime, fashion embraces the made by hand and celebrates life to the fullest, indulging in antique and embellished textiles. Collecting beauty as a form of therapy, people might live in isolation and need places that heal, introducing healthwear as a new category. With the current disruption of trade, the public starts to understand that it has to become more independent and that local and regional sources should be coveted. People realize that autarchy is a future requirement, and that the skill of improvisation will be vital for our survival. A junior generation will have to work hard at saving what can be preserved, establishing climate justice, and adopting a lifestyle that takes care of all sentient beings, including people and animals, soil and water, plants, and planet. The need for change is so great that some will even disappear down the rabbit hole called the internet, hiding in a world of spellbinding imagination where dreams are animated and outfits captivating.’
Image: Courtesy of Li Edelkoort
‘At the cusp of a new era, a contemporary generation will lead the way towards a more conscious future. Several key lifestyles emerge, proving that change for good is not only possible but is well on its way. Beyond the pandemic, people are dramatically modifying their lives, and many will quit their jobs and leave their urban lives behind, opting for a better existence, connected via technology while growing closer to nature. For some, life might look rather introspective, allowing them to focus on time and what matters most. Others will celebrate diversity and our human connections, getting together to bond, learn, and share experiences. Design takes note of this radical disruption, seeking emotional shapes, organic materials, engaging colours and tactile finishes to redesign our spaces, furniture, storage, and accessories. Interiors, craft, fashion, and materials unite to announce one holistic message: HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS.’
Image: Courtesy of Li Edelkoort
Predicting material trends that range from natural colours to earthy materials, her forecast categories include: ancient ochres; rock sediments; metallic tinctures; mummy chromatism; and phytoplankton. These are, she notes, ‘newer materials that will colour our objects, robots, and interiors while inspiring innovation and originality— pigments that heal and reach out to the human race in its race against the clock. These almost alive colours and organic substances are imbedded with energy, creating emotional alliances with customers, where colours, finishes and surfaces become vehicles for revelation and self-expression. Making us an intrinsic part of a brave new world.’
Image: Courtesy of Li Edelkoort
If talk of such disruption sounds more depressing than galvanising, SELVEDGE recommends All We Can Save.
Curated by two climate leaders, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson, this bestselling anthology of writings by 60 women at the forefront of climate work mixes essays with poetry and art. The book is both a balm, and a guide; a collection and celebration of visionaries who are leading us on a path toward ‘all we can save’.
Driven by the understanding that ‘to change everything, we need everyone’, the book is accompanied by a series of resources that encourage engagement and connection as a means of resilience. These additional resources invite connection by establishing or joining a ‘circle’— as individuals, within education establishments, or in the workplace.
Image: Courtesy of The All We Can Save Project.