‘The reflexive project of the self, which consists in the sustaining of coherent, yet continuously revised, biographical narratives, takes place in the context of multiple choice as filtered through abstract systems’ Giddens, 1991:5
Sociologist Anthony Giddes has written about the state of today’s modern society that he calls ‘Late Modernity’. In his theory he describes how tradition loses its hold and how our daily life is reconstructed in terms of the interplay of the local and global. Consequently, individuals must engage in an ongoing process of reflecting upon their lives and adapting them in the light of new knowledge that arises in a rapidly changing, globalising world. Giddens argues that in modern social life, the notion of lifestyle takes therefore on a particular significance. Self-identity has to be created and recreated on a more active basis than before. Because of the ‘openness’ of social life today lifestyle choice is increasingly important in the constitution of self-identity and daily activity.
The theory of Giddens about the ‘Late Modernity’ appeals to me while I think many of us will recognize certain things. Giddens explains a certain ‘chased’ feeling in today’s society, characterized by greater reflexivity and experiences of pressure because of the many choices they daily have to make. One way of constructing an identity is by choosing your clothing. The constant search for clothing is maybe a signal of the somewhat agitated feeling of ‘acting’ or ‘being’. What are your thougths about this? Are people constantly searching for identity nowadays? Does clothing help people to construct this identity?
To catch some breath during my visit to the Dutch Design Week I had a lunch break at the restaurant of Piet Hein Eek. The food was delicious – I had a platter full of different cheeses and grilled veggies with bread. The restaurant is one of the spaces in the former industrial complex of the designer. I loved the bright space with the tall windows, vintage furniture and lights from an old church combined with Piet Hein Eek’s designs. You can visit this lovely dinner place all year round.
© FoA. Images by Karlijn
Eventhough I’m sometimes a bit sceptical about sustainability as a trend, I like the creative ideas for sustainable design and techniques I saw at the Dutch Design Week. The Designers Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe made a statement ‘there is still joy in the items that have now replaced by faster, easier products’. Therefore they designed a ‘Green House’ for growing your own herbs inside your home so you can cut down on packaged products from the supermarket (see first image).
I noticed that sustainability has led to a change of design styles: ‘do more with less’ instead of the modernist ‘less is more’ and cyclical rather than linear shapes and processes. ‘The Microbial Home’ shown during the exhibition of Piet Hein Eek is a good example. The designers see a home as a biological machine to filter, process and recycle what we conventionally think of as waste. The Microbial Home consists of different elements and each element’s output is another’s input. One element is the bio-digester kitchen island, which converts bathroom waste solids and vegetable trimmings into methane gas that is used to power a series of other functions in the home. Innovative, don’t you think?
‘Fashion is ambivalent – for when we dress we wear inscribed upon our bodies the often obscure relationship of art, personal psychology and the social order. And that is why we remain endlessly troubled in fashion – drawn to it, yet repelled by a fear of what we might find hidden within its purposes’ Wilson (1985)
Images: hanneli.com, kissing-the-sun.tumblr.com, convoy.tumblr.com, smoking-guns.tumblr.com
