Haute couturier Missoni is building hotels. Zac Posen is kitting-out the 16 West 21^st Street condos, and Jean Paul Gaultier is trying his hand at upholstered soft furnishings. The worlds of fashion, furniture, finishes and interior design have never been separate – but now they’re more entwined than ever before. While this embracing of cross-disciplinarity is adding to the diversity and creativity of the global A+D community, we are beginning to notice that these heretofore ‘distinct’ disciplines are beginning to reveal pointed similarities. Naturally, there are design principles that colour all disciplinary branches of our creative endeavour: whether furnishing spaces or pulling together a clothing ensemble, principles of balance, proportion, focal points and form prevail.

And, this being the case, a new range from Modulyss – Fashion& – has just re-written the playbook for the relationship between materiality and narrative. After all, in their own words: ‘there’s more to style than meets the eye’. A core pillar to capital-S ‘Style’ is the capacity to convey capital-S ‘Story’. To convey, that is, an entire worldview and system of ethics articulated entirely in a symphony of materials, forms and design-thinking. The Fashion& range of up-to-the-minute carpet tile looks brings together this capacity for relating such stories with a heightened degree of character. Drawing inspiration from fashion history, runways, streetstyle and social media, the sheer range of possibilities to mix and match components allows end-users to express their style ‘personality’ to exactitude.

But, for those looking for some more direct inspiration, team Indesign has hit the streets, rummaged through libraries and our own wardrobes to present to you some classic ‘looks’ for integrating your flooring into your personal or brand style.

Mid-Century Forever

Smoked glass, high-polished concrete, the discreet elegance of grey – a sure-fire recipe for any a high-powered Madison Avenue executive suite. On a million pin-tucked chesterfields in a million dimly lit piano bars, silver foxes with perfectly polished wingtips and razor-sharp trouser creases flick through the pages of the Wall Street Journal. At home – an intelligently under-furnished penthouse replete with a single potted aspidistra – these evangelists of mid-century modernity celebrate slick, clean vital lines that sweep around to a pin-accurate point. Their fathers sat in Corbusier chairs, and they still do too. Never a wrinkle in a perfectly crisp white button-up, and never a clutter of colour and activity, theirs is a design philosophy that cherishes quiet, directness, brevity and understated elegance. After all, we wouldn’t want to be gauche now, would we?

Urban Hipster

In Downtown Brooklyn, New York City, there is a certain creature everyone knows all too well. Soy latte and chia seeds, Joni Mitchell original vinyls and kombucha fermenting on the brownstone window-sill. Today, the moniker ‘hipster’ is considered a little too pejorative. But let’s really look at the design ethos of our hipsters. Here’s an aesthetic agenda that celebrates the virtues of slow living – considerate design that disregards the wanton affectations of throwaway disposable culture. Our hipsters – be they in Brooklyn Brownstones or Melbourne alleyways – understand the inherent need for design in all its forms (on our backs, in our homes, at our workplaces) to brave the ravages of time. In their warehouse conversions, a tonal scheme of beige, coppers and muted primaries prevails. Untreated timbers, natural finishes and Harvey Probber furnishings delineate an area of effortless ‘cool’. And, I mean ‘cool’ in a very real sense: Thoughtful. Authentic. Unaffected. Now that’s a design philosophy … not a fad.

Countryside Chic

Autumnal tones, dark timber floors, the sound of rain hitting the roof. The perfect European country getaway. Vegetable pies warm in the oven, garnished with home grown herbs and the promise of another satiated sleep. Thonet Bentwood chairs adorn the dining room, surrounding the banquet of home-cooked meals sizzling in their ceramic pots. Chic, countryside glamour. Worn leather boots, fur vests and jodhpurs – a must for any country-bred woman. Gone are concrete playgrounds and a skyline littered with steel – clean air and clear skies, crisp linens and muted light are all you could ever want.

Club Kid

Colour blocking, clashing prints and oversized clothing is a must for the club kid, pop fanatic. Lovers of music, fashion and intoxication, these self-proclaimed ‘good-timers’ revel in the over-exaggerated. Finding solace in the crazy, loud and extreme is their calling. DIY Design, gender fluidity and costuming is their influence. Andy Warhol prints and covers of Interview magazine adorn their walls in a simple reminder that anyone can be a celebrity if they try hard enough. Punk, postmodernism, pleasure. A celebration of all that is weird and wacky. Sometimes less really isn’t more.

Sleek and Modern

For lovers of simplicity, minimalism and smart living, the sleek and modern industrial loft apartment is the way to go. Taking cues from Zaha Hadid, Phillipe Starck and Marcel Wanders, the sleek and modern decorator is a lover of all things steel, marble and monochromatic. Functionality is key. Space is celebrated and stillness is sought. Bare beams, piping and ducts are exposed, a juxtaposition of wood and steel. The smell of brewing coffee sifts through the building, a morning invitation to every hard-working professional. To the minimalist, every piece has a purpose.

Effortlessly Provence

Whitewashed walls, rustic timber and the occasional pastel tone are musts for the Provencal designer. Effortless, charming and homely, the Provencal property is a haven for drawn-out dinnertime conversations over endless glasses of wine. Taking cues from Japanese and Scandinavian Minimalism, Iittala X Issey Miyake homewares adorn the kitchen and bedroom, a littering of pale tones amongst a sea of calming white. Outside, waves of lavender adorn the fields, the sun sheepishly peeping its way through the clouds. The effortless design philosophy of Provence is as timeless and romantic as it comes.

The Fashion& range is available throughout Australia thanks to the team at Gibbon Group Architectural.