Retro redux

The 1970s trend is all over interiors too

Retro redux Just as the fashion barometer has swung back frmly in favour of insouciant 1970s style, so too has the design world, with interior and product designers celebrating the best of the era.

‘The 1970s are often categorised as having being full of sludgy brown, shagpile and large forals but this is just not the case,’ says Emma Mawston, head of design for Liberty Art Fabrics. ‘It was a period of innovation and discovery.’ Like many of the current crop of creatives, Mawston is a child of the 1970s. So it is perhaps no coincidence that her generation is referencing the aesthetic in their work.

The interior designer and architect Ashley Hicks – son of the late interior designer David Hicks – grew up in a home full of geometric patterns and strong colours, one of the many decorating styles the era encompassed. ‘Obviously, I have it in my blood,’ he says, ‘It was anathema for a long time but now it looks exciting. Taste is always a cyclical thing – Tom Ford and others brought it on to the catwalk 10 years ago and now it has fltered through to homewares.’

For a lesson on how to make the style relevant in modern homes, look to the warm, retro-chic interiors of the LAbased interior designer Kelly Wearstler (pictured). ‘The best of 1970s design has clean, timeless lines and a sense of exuberance not equalled by any other era,’ she says. ‘I think the fearlessness and willingness to experiment by mixing patterns and colours is the real lesson to be taken from it, but be selective: a little goes a long way.’ Wise words.

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