Li Edelkoort: Famous Trendspotter

By: Linda TischlerWed Sep 17, 2008 at 1:30 AM

Whether it's our impending obsession with veils and turbans or our "global quest for decadence," Li Edelkoort knows what's coming. (You might not believe it.)

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You see how important this whole voting thing is when you see how it has affected this country. There has been a terrible arrest of anything moving. If you go to L.A., it looks like it hasn't changed from the 1980s. No new brands, no new shops, no retail ideas. Nothing.

Why do you think we've been so stuck?

We've been living 20 years in fear. The '90s started with AIDS and a huge economic and ecological crisis, then the [tech] bubble that burst, followed by Ebola, and the millennium bug. Then in 2001, it started really big-time.

So how has all that played out in the marketplace?

For one thing, in these 20 years, we've all been dressed in dresses. And I think there's an interesting correlation between the dress and fear because, as an animal, when man is fearful, he immediately wants to procreate. So the dress is used as the feather. And now that we will have less fear, we will have less dresses.

What will we wear that's less fearful?

Separates. Like those worn in the '70s and '80s.

How do fashion and architectural trends relate?

In fashion we've been working with the idea of veiling and covering ourselves up. We'll go into hiding much more, which will make our lives more exciting and decadent. Burlesque and the cabaret will come back. In architecture, we see this new building by Ben van Berkel called "the Burka," because it looks like it's wrapped in black ribbon. For him it's a statement against all the openness, all the glass.

What do you see happening in housing?

Contrary to many architectural predictions, we don't believe fluid, boatlike lines will continue. There's going to be a return of the box. Man is a very fearful animal and needs to be confined; we need organization. We will live like chickens.

In Milan, the whole city was buzzing about the Dutch. Why is this such a Dutch moment in design?

The Dutch mentality fits very well with this kind of make-do time. It's sober, yet it has humor. It's very generous. We're peculiar in the sense that we're extremely rooted with our feet on the floor, yet have our head in the clouds. By ourselves, we attach sky and earth, with the energy going through us.

Where do you see things going next?

We're starting a program in the Netherlands to bring 15 scientists and 15 creatives together to study and do research. We know that designers are more interested in science, and scientists are more open to the arts and design. In the first half of this century, we think everything that we have always seen as opposites will merge into new hybrids.

Years ago, the Dutch architect Winy Maas came up with the idea of a vertical farm called Pig City. Do you think its time has come?

Now it's not just the Dutch. A researcher at Columbia University said vertical farming is on its way. You could do four hectares on each floor. No insects, no diseases. You could go to your next-door building and it will be a fresh market. If you want to check out of your current lifestyle, or invest, you should buy the farm.

The Dutch understood globalization before the rest of the world. Is your history giving you a leg up?

We became rich with global marketing. Amsterdam is built from spices. But recently the government has decided that the future of our country is in the creative industries.

It sounds like you've all been reading The Rise of the Creative Class.

Richard Florida [the book's author] is taken very seriously in the Netherlands. There's an enormous fight going on between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Eindhoven because everybody wants to be the first city in the creative industries. Film. Advertising. Architecture. Design.

What could Americans learn from the Dutch?

To be free. I think you have lost your freedom: to the state, to the federal. You've lost your freedom of voice, of economy, of expression. It's very monotonous. And your history learns us that you're not that.

If the U.S. were your client, what would you advise?

For one thing, it's an American misconception that everything should be big and in numbers. I went to Crate & Barrel and wanted some stuff for my new apartment, and everything was too big. Every bowl was like a salad bowl, every mug like a vase, every wineglass like a pitcher. It's unappealing. Also, if America wants to solve its economic and electricity problems, you should just stop serving ice in everything. Your drink gets watered down. It's not really good for your brain. It's just a habit. Americans should go in rehab for all these habits. That would do it.

With an election on the horizon, many things may soon change. What do you see in our future?

There are many, many small signs telling us that we are about to step out of our rut. I'm super optimistic and positive about that. That's why I called my presentation "How Wonderful."

From Issue 129 | October 2008

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Recent Comments | 20 Total

October 10, 2008 at 10:19am by Bradley Nixon

This is the kind of vision and thought that cuts to the core of human creativity. It inspires and stimulates the place in each of us that desires expansion and greatness.

Li Edelkoort: Famous Trendspotter

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Recent Comments | 20 Total

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