Making interiors more fashionable
BLACK leather rock and roll was certainly a feature of this year’s London Fashion Week. Kate Moss was slapped across yesterday’s papers for finishing the week in a floor length leather dress. But she wasn’t the only one to be upping the ante and embracing cow skin. The German twins, Daniela and Annette Felder, behind the Felder Felder fashion label, grabbed some lime light too, trotting out their latest gothic-themed collection.
The blonde pair (pictured right), however, are not just jumping on the grungy bandwagon. They are punk rock through and through. How do I know? Because I spent a night inside a flat they designed before Christmas.
The result certainly has impact. The walls screamed with personality. Not difficult when they were decorated with leather-studs, blood red paint, and collaged like a ransom note.
The one-bed apartment once housed Jim Henson’s muppets. The fact it was a factory allows for enormous windows across its studio kitchen-dining-living area. The room’s raw brick and stone-effect walls provide the necessary level of sophistication you required to balance out the designers’ quirkier features. The corrugated iron breakfast table, for instance, needs to be bathed in natural light to be appreciated.
They have brought the individuality of their clothes to interior design. And this looks set to become the latest craze. With Jade Jagger styling the Baglioni hotel in Marrakech and Jean Paul Gaultier launching a distinctively stripy homeware collection, there seems to be greater appetite for creating homes with more character.
So forget Magnolia walls and stick on your artist’s beret. Now is the time to step-up your creative credentials.
Annette Felder explains: “We wanted to bring the outside in, make the flat reflect the Felder girl we design clothes for and her surroundings.” This is no simple task considering that the flat sits between the excitement of Camden Town and the gentler world of Primrose Hill. “The Felder girl,” Annette says, “is like us: fun-loving, but also likes luxury. She loves music, has a creative job and likes to have a good time.”
But does one go about creating interiors like that? Annette explains: “We tried to create moods in the different rooms by working with signature pieces from flea markets. The couch, for example, we found in Paris and then got it re-upholstered with the fire print tye-dye print we used in our last collection.”
I really recommend thinking outside the box. Don’t be shy about giving rooms your own touch.”
FACTS | THE DESIGNER FLAT
l The flat is located in Camden Lock within the Henson building, developed by Londonewcastle.
l It costs £500,000 including furnishings.
l The Henson building has a 24 hour concierge service.
l It is a one-bedroom flat with a total area of 575.9 sq ft with an a 109.8 sq ft terrace.
l The lighting installation in the Henson’s lobby is designed by Jason Bruges Studio.
l For further information: www.thehenson.co.uk.