Outer Space: From Fendi to Jan Kath

Beginning with a Star Wars tapestry last month, there is now Fendi’s A/W14 collection featuring starry splatters across jackets, to Jan Kath’s Spacecrafted Collection, and even a handwoven app for your iPhone.

The cosmos has recently become an inspiration across all design sectors. Beginning with a Star Wars tapestry last month, there is now Fendi’s A/W14 collection featuring starry splatters across jackets, to Jan Kath’s Spacecrafted collection, and even a handwoven app for your iPhone.

But why have these outer world inspirations come about? Have designers exhausted earthly inspirations and are looking for alternative ideas? Either way they do make for some stunning collections.

First off we have Jan Kath‘s stunning Spacecrafted collection which was introduced at Domotex Hanover 2014. The connection to the galaxies is instantaneous, with images of red, white and blue space dust handwoven into rugs. In this case, the sky has literally fallen, straight onto your floor, turning your interior into a fantasy space in which you can re-live Gravity in the comfort of our oxygen-ridden planet.

We will have an exclusive interview with Jan Kath in the upcoming issue of COVER so be sure to subscribe in time to see how he was inspired to create out-of-this-world rugs. COVER will also be presenting Jan Kath at EDIT by designjunction, taking place at the Palazzo Morando, Milan, 9-13 April 2014, where you will be able to see the entire Spacecrafted Collection alongside the award-winning Erased Heritage Collection.

Spacecrafted rug, Jan Kath

Following Jan’s trend is head designer and creative director of Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld, who has put a ‘brutal but poetic’ collection together for Milan Fashion Week 2014. The hit collection featured almost-too-long skirts skimming the lower shins, heavy duty parkas, lots of fur and a fuzzy Karl Lagerfeld doll. Towards the end of the show, the seriousness of the fur begins to diminish with the introduction of starry garments, which look like drops of space dust splattered across coats, skirts and tops. The finale is a black, billowing velvet dress, splashed with white paint, and with the reflecting light a beautiful cosmic effect is replicated in Milan.

Finally we have something to soothe your Flappy Bird woes. Voyager is the new game from the App Store that will soothe your despair. The game is 100% hand-crafted, using needle-felted wool and stop-motion animation. New York-based designer Ken Amarit from Oh My! Me Studios came up with the idea when the NASA spacecraft, Voyager 1, pierced the outer reaches of our solar system. The digitised, handmade rocket zooms through the galaxy, with players dodging the creatures that haunt the distant realms on a seemingly endless Space Invader style mission.

The result of all these designs are colourfully dreamy and entertaining creations and we are sure to see more intergalactic inventions in the coming year.

Spacecrafted rug, Jan Kath

Spacecrafted rug, Jan Kath