Posted: Jan. 17, 2020 12:01 am Updated: Jan. 17, 2020 8:27 am

Ahead of both the album release and the US tour, I was able to spend a few minutes talking to Richard Taylor, lead singer, and separately, Steve Harris, bass player of British Lion. They shared some of their thoughts on making the new album, winning over new fans, and what they're looking forward to with the upcoming run of shows here in the States. First up, Richard Taylor:

Mike Sorensen: Thank you for a little bit of your time. I know with the new album coming out, and the new tour on this side of the world, I know your time is probably pretty spare at the moment.

Richard Taylor: Yeah, it's no problem! It's about 6pm here in the UK, so I'm just kind of relaxing, really, getting ready for next week!

MS: Well, I'll try to keep this short so you can enjoy your evening! I wanted to start with the fact that I know British Lion has taken a path that is unusual for most bands. Do you think that's been helpful in the creative process that you haven't been on any set schedule like other bands may have been?

RT: Yeah, I think it has helped, really. You know, Steve, and I, and the other guys, have known each other for many, many years. I don't know if you know the beginnings or not, but I knew Steve when I was really young, back in my early 20s, in the 1990s. I was already writing songs, and I started writing through songs with Steve back then. That was a younger band, and Steve was my manager then. There's a lot of years in between, and that band didn't happen, it sort of imploded, but Steve and I stayed friends, so we had been writing. It is difficult, I do a lot of the writing here in the UK, and I submit my ideas to Steve, and then we get together when we can. So it's been a long break since the first record, but there's an awful lot of material around, and ideas from way, way back, ya know?

I don't think the break in between has been bad for us, and we've been continuously touring, and really working at our craft. I think that's really helped us. We've had like eight years of touring now, and the band has really developed in a way since the release of the very first album in 2012.

MS: I noticed, even just since November, you guys have been all over the world, and everything coming out about this new tour, I keep seeing that it's the first US tour, and that shocked me because I keep thinking 'That can't be right!' But this is the first time you guys have done a US tour. Is that something you've intentionally waited to come to the US, or was it just a matter of the timing being right?

RT: I think it was just timing, ya know? We had our first American audience, it was a couple of years back now, we did the Monsters of Rock cruise. That's only a few days away, out at sea, but it's a great gig, and there's a lot of great, cool bands on there. For British Lion, that was our first American audience. A few Europeans, but the majority of the audiences on those Monsters of Rock cruises are American. We loved it, and I think we went down really well. It was always planned, to come to America, and personally I've been fascinated by America since I was a child, and I draw many influences from all types of music, particularly American music as well! It's an absolute dream to come and do a real tour there in the States.

MS: Well, we're excited to have you! I've been listening since the first album, and the new album sounds amazing. I know you were talking about the writing. You and Steve and David (Hawkins, guitarist) do the majority of the writing, is that correct?

RT: Yes, that's correct!

MS: I know the new album, while I've been going back to the first album lately, the new album sounds heavier to me than the first. Not a drastic change, but just a heavier sound. Was that, again, something that was done intentionally, or is that just the way the music's evolved for you?

RT: Again, it's just a natural progression. The thing is, hopefully you'll get to see us when we come out, because people get a real shock at how powerful the band is when we play live. The first record I don't want to go into too much detail but it goes a long way back in the fact that Steve and I had been writing for years and years and years, and we just took little bits here and there, it was never intentionally as a record. We ended up with a whole bunch of songs, but it wasn't where the whole album was recorded in one place. So the production is definitely weaker, if I may say that, compared to when we play live.

This record is very close to how we do sound live. We all went in together and recorded it at the same time, in the same studio. It didn't take long, only took a week, we recorded it as a live band, all in the same studio, I sung as the band put the tracks down. I mean, you know, it's still a studio so it's not a live record as such, but it was kind of performed the way we do live. I guess that's why it sounds more powerful and more heavy.

MS: Well, the sound comes through, and I think the energy translates when a band plays together, whether it's on stage or in a studio. And I am excited, I'm currently hoping to see the show when you come in to Joliet, which is where I'm from. I'm just excited that you guys are coming over to see us at all! Do you have any plans for yourself, personally, during any of the limited downtime that you might have during the tour? Anything that you want to see while you're over here?

RT: Yeah, lots of places! As I said, America's a big part of my influences growing up. Particularly, I remember when I was really young, I had an older sister that loved Elvis. I've loved music for as long as I can remember, as long as I could talk, and I remember hearing Elvis, so I'm really hoping to get to Graceland. Anywhere in the States, really! Nashville, particularly, because I love country music, as well, so to get to Nashville would be great! Everywhere, all over the States. I've been to Florida before, been to LA before, and I've been to Canada before, the closest we've toured, but on this particular tour we're getting to see a lot more states and cities. And New York, I did visit New York last year, it's just fantastic for me, it's a wonderful, amazing city! Jimi Hendrix's studio is there, and we went to his studio.

Just generally, really, America is such a big country, and all the states are different, so in my down time, I'll definitely be out and about and trying to take it all in, really!

MS: There's plenty to see, and just looking at the schedule it amazing to see how much you guys do in such a small timeframe. With that, I'll skip the usual what's next for the band? because the calendar shows that what's next is a lot of time on the road! Let me ask this: What would you like to see over the next four or five years for British Lion?

RT: What I'd really like is continuing touring, that's what the plan is, some big festivals this year. And then really just kind of going up the ladder a little bit. It's a humble start! It's absolutely fantastic to have Steve onboard. Obviously Steve's other band is vastly known all over the world, where British Lion is completely different to that, and we have our own audience, as well. And we've got to work at it, ya know, so we're playing smaller clubs. So we're just going to continue how we're going! We're all in 100%, and it's a great band, a powerful band, it's an honest band, and we're very sincere, we really mean what we're doing, although it's very personal to me, as I'm the majority writing the lyrics.

I think in the next four or five years, it would be fantastic to put another album out, certainly in the next four years. Funnily enough, we already have some ideas. There's a song left over from this album, The Burning, we left it off specifically because it's got a really strong title, and it's more than just a song. It seems to have a huge kind of story behind it, and it's kind of given the focus behind the idea for the next record. So we've got to finish that.

And I hope this isn't the only American tour! The whole point of what we've been doing for the last eight years is we've been playing Europe, and in Eastern Europe, when we're lucky to go back a few years later, the clubs are getting fuller from word of mouth, and we'd like to do that in America, as well. Hopefully we'll put on a good show for everybody, and they can go and tell their friends for the next time we come back. That's sort of the way to build things.

And following that conversation, I then spoke with Steve Harris:

Mike Sorensen: I appreciate you taking a little bit of you time, I know it's got to be a busy week for you this week!

Steve Harris: No, it's all right, it's good! And I appreciate it, as well!

MS: I'm privileged to get to speak with you, I've been a fan of all of your work for a long time. I know the tour that's getting ready, you guys are starting this week, it's the first British Lion tour in the US. Are you excited to bring the live show to a bunch of different cities over here to us colonials?

SH: I'm very excited, 'cause it's the first time ever, so it's nice, yeah! Obviously the guys are. A couple of them never even played in the States before, so it's gonna be great! I'm really looking forward to it!

MS: Hopefully we make sure we give them the proper hospitality over here!

SH: Well, you never know, when you play a place for the first time, a country or city or whatever, the first time, you never know what you're going to get. And I don't mean even the reaction so much, you just don't even know how many people are going to turn up! It was like that when we first started playing Europe and other places, too. It's all turned out really well, and as long as people come along and give it a chance, we can go out there and do what we do, and I'm sure they'll have a good time!

MS: I know, personally, I'm looking forward to it! I've seen some of the clips from the live shows, and I love the albums, both of them so far, and I can't wait to see the energy on stage!

SH: Yeah, we give it a lot of energy! We give it 110%, and we enjoy it! We have fun when we play, so that's the main thing.

MS: Do you have any different process that you go through when you're playing in a smaller venue, before you get on stage?

SH: For one, we do soundchecks, which for Maiden, we don't. With Maiden, we do one or two at the beginning of a tour, and all the arenas, all the stage sizes, are set to the same size everywhere, indoors or outdoors, it's always the same stage sizes. So you don't really need to do soundchecks, we just get our crew to do line-checks to make sure things are functioning and whatever. But when you start playing in clubs, every club is totally different from one place to the next. Size-wise, sound-wise, everything's totally different, so you need to do soundchecks. So we do 'em, and that's the biggest difference, I would say, in that sense.

MS: I did get a moment to speak with Richard (Taylor, British Lion vocalist) last week, and I wanted to get your take on this: Do you feel that, from a creative point of view, do you think there's a benefit that British Lion is not on a traditional 'album cycle,' if you want to call it that? That you get to do your own thing, that you get to take a little more time in doing the albums?

SH: I can't speak for everybody, but for me, it's just a question of trying to cram it all in! I mean, with what I'm doing, the rest of the guys have to sort of work around me. From their point of view, I would even say it may even be a little bit frustrating, possibly, because it's taken so long to get these albums out. Having said that, we've been having great fun playing live in between times. It is what it is, but in an ideal world, I'd love to be able to record an album like we do with Maiden: write, record, and mix an album all in one go. But that's just not possible, so we have to do it in a different way. But we make it happen! We find a way and we make it happen!

It is a little frustrating, I suppose, but I'm sure it's more frustrating for them than it is me! 'Cause I'm still out there doing other stuff with Maiden and having a great time with them, so it's tough. But we all enjoy it, the end result is worth it.

MS: Well, having gotten a sneak-peek of The Burning, the new album, I can say that I think it sounds a little heavier than the first album. Do you feel that was a conscious effort, or was that just the evolution of the music from where you were writing?

SH: I think it's the natural evolution of playing live. The first album, we hadn't really played live together. I think it happened a few years before that, when I went out with the early incarnation of British Lion, I got up and did a couple of songs with them, but I never really played a full set with them or anything like that. It's just a whole different thing once you've been out playing live everywhere. The same line-up we have now is the line-up that we went out and toured the album with, even though there's a few different people playing on the first album, as well.

The line-up for the live thing has stayed the same for the last seven or eight years. It's evolved into a really tight-knit unit, we all have fun, enjoy each other's company, we get on really well and enjoy working together! It's a lot of fun, and that's enabled everybody to be able to do more stuff and do whatever, because we have spent more time together.

MS: The sound is fantastic on the new album. I've really been enjoying it and, again, I really am eager to see it performed live, as well! It just lends itself to that energy.

SH: Well, I think we have really captured, as much as possible, we've captured what we are like live. Quite a few of the songs, we were already playing live anyway for a while, so we went and recorded them straight off of playing live, and it shows! Of course, the tough thing after that is all the newer material that we haven't played live yet, it was more difficult to try and get that same feeling, but I think we managed to capture it! And we've played a couple more songs live in the UK and, just before Christmas we played London, and we've still got some more songs for the US that we've never played live before. We're really looking forward to that!

MS: When I had spoken with Richard, he had mentioned a song that was in the mix for this album, but you had decided to pull it back that may be building for a next album. I don't want to put the cart before the horse and talk about another album, but

SH: We've got a few songs, we've probably got four or five songs. It's not that we had songs that were just not good enough to get on this album or anything like that. We had some other ideas that we felt would be better on the next one. So hopefully the next one won't take as long to come out! It's great, because there's so many ideas that are flying around the place, for both bands British Lion and Iron Maiden! it's just great to have that problem, having too many ideas than not enough.

MS: The impression that I had gotten was that it may be leaning more toward aI don't know if concept album is the right phrasing, but that it may be a more structured album, telling a fuller story within the album. Is that something that you would be interested in doing with British Lion?

SH: I think we've got to wait and see once we've got all the songs and decide at that point. But, yeah, there's a rough idea of what we want to do with it. We've even got some bits and pieces which we even feel would work well with it. But I think it's better to talk about this album now, really, because we're excited about this one coming out, and it might be a while before the next one comes out, but not too long, hopefully.

MS: Absolutely, and I just mentioned it because of his comments, and I'm a big fan of those concept albums, so I was just curious on that process.

SH: Well, I know (guitarist) David Hawkins would like to do something like that, because he's kind of into all of that stuff, as well. But we'll see. We'll just have to see what the rest of the songs are about, and see what happens.

MS: With what I've heard, I can't imagine there's many ideas from British Lion that wouldn't thrill me, so I trust what you guys are going to be doing going forward, including this tour. Is there anything you might want to say to fans coming out for these shows who might not know what to expect from a live British Lion's show?

SH: I think they just need to grab a couple of mates and bring 'em with them and say 'come and give this a chance!' Because it's a really good live band, really good songs, and they'll have a good, fun night out. I think that's the thing, we've just got to get people in. It's tough, even with a name like me in the band or whatever, it's still tough to get people to come and see something that's new. But once they're there, you get 'em in there and you prove what you can do. That's what we want.

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Q&A with British Lions - Herald-Whig

Mature, still with potential to grow. Despite the slowdown in the developed market, the risk increase in the global economy and the challenges faced by the sector itself, fashion continues to grow and will reach up to 1.88 billion dollars in sales, according to Euromonitor International.

The consultancy emphasizes that clothing and footwear make up the second-largest consumer goods industry in the world.Despite its maturity, its outlook is positive, although, its growth levers are not the same as ten years ago.

The progress of ecommerce, the enormous potential of China and India and the growth of mens fashion will compensate for the flawed traditional channels and categories, which continue to representthe bulk of sales of the sector: developed markets, physical retail, and women.

Ecommerce is one of the main responsible for the progress that fashion sales will experience in the upcoming years: in 2019, a quarter of the sales of the sector were already made online.

On the other hand, mens fashion has become, together with athleisure, the main category of growth: menswear clothing sales have been growing for several years more than womenswear, and sportswear sales will grow by 8% this year, compared to 4% of the sector as a whole. Last year, leggings was the category that progressed the most among apparel, amidst athleisure's growth and the increasing evolution of the practice of sports among women.

As a whole, the consultancy expects clothing sales to grow by 4%, up to 1.5 trillion dollars, while footwear will grow another 4%, up to 384 billion dollars, driven by childrens footwear.

China and India together with the United States, will be the worlds largest markets for the sector in 2024. Fashion sales in China will amount to 435 billion dollars within four years, surpassing the United States, with 384 billion dollars.

Each of them will generate more sales than the following three markets together: India, with 101 billion dollars; Germany, with 79 billion and the United Kingdom, where fashion will reach sales of 76 billion dollars in 2024.

Man and ecommerce remain the main growth levers in the sector. Euromonitor stresses that the growth of mens fashion continues to outrank womens and that a quarter of the sales in the sector are already made through the Network.

Another factor that will change consumption in the middle term is the growing role of sustainability, proven in recent years by agreements such as the Fashion Pact. After living in the era of fast fashion, consumers are now re-evaluating their shopping habits and showing interest in adopting more sustainable practices, says Ayako Homma, fashion and luxury consultant at Euromonitor.

60% of consumers are concerned about climate change and 64% try to have a positive impact on the environment through daily activities. While consumers are becoming more environmentally-conscious, apparel and footwear companies are attempting to curb fashions environmental impact from various angles, adds the expert.

Read the original here:
Fashion 2020: China, India, ecommerce, and athleisure boost business up to 1.9 trillion dollars - MDS

The retail sector will continue to face headwinds in 2020. The National Retail Federation (NRF), with the help of its members and researchers from Bain Capital, TrendWatching, Code Commerce and New York University, recently outlined several predictions for retailers in 2020.

NRF expects ambiguity over the next 12 months as the 2020 presidential election will dominate the airways and could put a damper on consumer sentiment. Consumers are the lifeblood for the economy, and by standard metrics, the state of the consumer is solid heading into 2020, according to Wells Fargo chief economist Jay Bryson. But, he said, there are some outlying risks to the growth.

Not only would another increase in tariffs weigh further on investment spending, but higher prices for consumer goods would erode growth in real income that could exert headwinds on growth in consumer spending, Bryson said.

Retail experts also expect greater attention focused on continued growth in the sharing economy and its disruption to traditional models. They expect heightened speculation about a recession, raised eyebrows about the likelihood of more autonomous-driving cars, and more context about 5G cellular technology.

RISING RESALE Consumers continue to have a big appetite for resale and recommence, which NRF said will be voracious in 2020. The rising resale market is the new disruptor in the sector, and its poised to double in size over the next five years. In 2019, the secondhand apparel market was worth an estimated $24 billion, according to retail analysts firm Global Data. They expect the resale market could reach $41 billion by 2022. The used-fashion industry could climb to $64 billion in the U.S. by 2028, which is a major disruption to an already beleaguered retail segment.

The trade group said frugal consumers, led by value-conscious Millennials, will continue to fuel the resale segment. Younger and older generations are also getting into the resale mindset with the ease of selling items on eBay, Etsy or Facebook Marketplace and popular apps like Poshmark, ThredUp and Mercari.

Consumer attitudes toward ownership have evolved from stockpiling fashion to a more circular motion, with the desire for greater sustainability at the forefront. We look for more retailers to dabble in rentals, targeting a piece of Rent the Runways sweet success to win favor with shoppers who will forever be seduced by whats new and now, but are refusing to compromise their environmental ethos, NRF noted in the report.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS The trade group said retailer success in 2020 is grounded in offering an incredible retail experience. That entails how retailers tell a story, how shoppers experience it and the emotional connection left behind. That will allow vigilant businesses to raise the bar.

The retail industry has been talking about experiences for decades remember The Experience Economy, written by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore in 1999, the report stated. Today its imperative, regardless of whether a company is selling apparel, personal care products or tires. Customers can buy just about anything online, so its important to snag their attention with storytelling and hands-on interaction and your audience will remember the experience, the report stated.

NRF said the concept of experiential retailing is speeding toward a mainstream business practice. The newest crop of retail businesses were early adopters.

Now, shopping malls are embracing the idea, infusing entertainment options into the mix and beckoning mall-goers with the promise of environments that will transform periodically not just at the holidays, the report said.

Experts predict there will be some challenges with experiential retail, noting the importance of regularly refreshing the experiences.

While experience matters to consumers, the trade group said retailers who refuse to change will be the most vulnerable. The experts said the key to success is to create an experience that makes shoppers want to return again and again. They say while leveraging technology is wise, it is not a substitute for human capital, which is vital to experiential retail.

BLURRED LINES The lines between channels, products, technology companies and social media entities are no longer clearly delineated. Retailers have been branching far beyond familiar channels. Theyre continuing to try their hand at hospitality, health services and rentals.

Over the past six months, Walmart, Kroger, Macys and e.l.f. Cosmetics launched campaigns on social media platform TikTok, garnering impressive levels of consumer engagement along with millions of views, according to NRF.

Under the heading of strange bedfellows, the report states: Le Tote, a relative newcomer in subscriptions, inked a deal to acquire legacy department store Lord & Taylor in August. Sams Club recently acquired the technology assets and some of the advertising team from Triad who work on their accounts, opting to bring the segment under Sams Club management. And Target Corp. announced in October it was teaming up with the owner of the Toys R Us brand to relaunch the companys e-commerce site.

Dont even try to keep score. Its futile. Its also brilliant. Driving this blurring of lines is retailers realization that the newest evolution of retail is about providing a holistic experience for consumers. Always looking for ways to create a competitive advantage, retailers are opening their minds to innovative ways of servicing and supporting the customer journey, the report said.

PERSONALIZATION IMPROVEMENT Personalization has been a buzzword in retail for the past few years, but few companies have achieved the level that consumers have come to expect.

NRF said Netflix, YouTube and Spotify have been leaders in personalization by developing artificial intelligence recommendation engines to suggest new content to people based on what theyre already listening to or watching and what people with similar interests are enjoying.

Most retailers are still struggling to get there, the trade group said. Researchers applaud Stitch Fix and Rent the Runway for their personalization prowess. Nordstrom leads the personalization push from a customer service platform, and Sephora topped Sailthrus Retail Personalization Index for the third year in a row. Sephoras score of 79 out of a possible 100 comes in part because the beauty retailers mobile app, in-app messaging and links to its loyalty program are top-notch.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning should be making it much easier for retailers to personalize their efforts in ways that go beyond email. Still, every indication suggests that most companies are still swimming in so much data that figuring out how to tap this repository in a way that engages shoppers, not enrages them, remains a challenge, NRF researchers said in the report.

Editors note:The Supply Side sectionof Talk Business & Politics focuses on the companies, organizations, issues and individuals engaged in providing products and services to retailers. The Supply Side is managed by Talk Business & Politics and sponsored byPropak Logistics.

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The Supply Side: Resale, personalization, experience will dominate retail in 2020 - talkbusiness.net

It's easy to shock with technology and innovation, says Michael Anastassiades, but the real challenge for designers is creating objects that stay relevant over time.

Anastassiades who is Designer of the Year at the Maison&Objet furniture fair in Paris this week has built his business around producing lighting designs he believes will become timeless.

Speaking to Dezeen at his studio in north London, he explained that, despite being a designer, he is against consumerism. He believes new objects should only be made if they are going to last a long time.

"What is the need for constant change, as if we don't have enough?" he said.

"Nothing in this world is new"

"Being a designer and being against consumerism in that way, it's a bit of a paradox," he continued."Our culture tries to encourage this change,this ephemerality, this newness, whatever."

"But it's all fake, it's all artificial."

Anastassiades believes that no new design can be truly unique, that all ideas are recycled from somewhere.

"Nothing in this world is new, not even ideas; everything has been done before historically," he told Dezeen.

"We have evolved as human beings, but the notion of creativity hasn't really evolved over thousands of years. It's a moment to really accept what your contribution to the world of design can be."

"I didn't fit in a mould"

Anastassiades, aged 53, is today one of the world's most highly respected lighting designers, thanks to products like his Mobile Chandelier series.But his route intothe industry was a long and unconventional one.

Born inCyprus, he always aspired to be an artist but, to satisfy his parents, he chose to study civil engineering at Imperial College London.

After realising that he wasn't suited to engineering, he took up a masters in industrial design and engineering at the Royal College of Art, but even after that he struggled to find a career path that suited him.

"I didn't fit in a mould of anybody; there were no designers that I could relate to," he explained.

"Flos gave me the freedom I needed"

After over a decade of soul-searching, which saw him produce experimental designs while also working as a design tutor and a yoga teacher, Anastassiades finally decided to set up his own lighting design business.

A breakthrough came in 2011. Presenting his designs for the first time at the Salone del Mobile in Milan,he caught the attention of Piero Gandini, then-CEO of prolific Italian lighting brand Flos.

This was the start of a collaboration that has endured for nearly a decade, and produced many iconic designs, including the String Lights, Copycat and the popular IC Lights.

Anastassiades explained that Flos gave him an opportunity to test ideas at a scale he would never have been able to with his business.

"Many people ask me what I give to Flos and what I keep for myself," said Anastassiades. "In a way, I gave Flos a little bit of my image and Flos gave me the freedom that I needed."

"I don't feel the need to say yes"

The designer believes the success of his career and his collaborations, including recent partnerships with companies like Herman Miller and Bang & Olufsen, come down to his maturity.

"I think that arriving at this stage of your career at a mature stage in your life is much more rewarding," he added. "You know when to say no, when to take something on or not take something on."

"I don't feel the need to say yes," he added."Had it happened to me 20 years ago, I wouldn't be the same."

Anastassiades is presenting an exhibition of his Mobile Chandeliers at the entrance to Hall 7 at Maison&Objet, which opens today and continues until Tuesday 21 January.

Read on for the full transcript of the interview:

Amy Frearson: How did you start your career in design?

Michael Anastassiades:It was never straightforward. Design was not a clear direction from the beginning. As a child growing up, I always wanted to do something creative. I wanted to be an artist, but that was also all I knew existed at that time. I grew up in a very small place, Cyprus, where I didn't have exposure to all the creative disciplines that you could study. You could either become an artist or you had to do something else entirely. And unfortunately it was not an option for me to become an artist because my parents wanted me to get a job. They always associated the idea of being or doing anything creative as a kind of failure.

Amy Frearson:What did your parents do for a living?

Michael Anastassiades:My mother didn't really work, she was mainly at home looking after us. My dad was a self-made businessman, of course retired now, but he never went abroad to study. That's why he wanted both me and my brother to pursue further education and have that structure in our lives that he didn't have. Somehow the idea of doing something creative was not structured enough.

Amy Frearson: What did you do instead?

Michael Anastassiades: I decided that engineering would be a good thing for me to study.I was very good at maths and physics, so I thought I could get into a good engineering school. So I came here, to London, and I went to Imperial College to study civil engineering.

Engineering seemed like a good compromise, because I thought it would allow me a little bit of creativity. Although I have to say that there was not much of that. That was the reality. I figured out pretty quickly that I didn't want to be a civil engineer, then halfway through my degree I discovered the Royal College of Art. I figured out that, because it's a masters college, it could enable someone with an engineering degree to do a masters in design.And the Royal College is a very reputable institution, so my parents could not say no, now I had the degree they wanted me to get.

That changed everything, in terms of exposing me to a creative environment with other creative people. The course itself was not ideal, it was industrial design and engineering. I felt I wanted to run away from engineering, but I had to be constantly reminded of it. There are designers that are more towards the James Dyson end but I felt that I was completely at the opposite end. That part of design was not really my preference.

So after the Royal College, I spent many years trying to really figure out what I wanted to do, or at least what I wanted design to be. Two years of design education hadn't given me any defined direction. I didn't fit in a mould of anybody; there were no designers that I could relate to.

For many years I ended up using design as research. I did a lot of experimental design, some quite interesting projects that were shown in various institutions around the world, like MoMA. They were interactive pieces designed to raise questions, rather than to become real products.

Amy Frearson:Can you give some examples?

Michael Anastassiades:My graduation project was the Message Cup, a cup for people that share the same household to record messages. Another was the Anti Social Light, a light that glows only when there's absolute silence. These projects were really questioning the role of electronic products, particularly within the domestic environment. I was very much intrigued with the psychological dependency that existed between objects and users.

Amy Frearson: How did you move from these experimental projects to lighting?

Michael Anastassiades: Design as research remained from the early 1990s up until the early 2000s, and I did a bit of teaching to support myself. Design was not a job for me at that time, it was very much research.At the same time, I figured out that I had a big passion for objects. I had a passion for everyday things and I had an opinion on what was going on in the world of design at that time, although I had never really tried myself in that area.

It was an interesting period because it coincided with me buying my first house. I decided to settle in the UK, and bought a small terraced property in south London and started doing it up. I figured out what objects I needed, particularly lighting, but I couldn't find what I wanted. I couldn't afford the pieces that could possibly fit my brief and so I thought I might as well make the pieces myself.

I had also met and become very close friends with Bijoy Jain from Studio Mumbai. He was shortly based here in the early '90s and we worked on a project together, an interior. After that he asked me to help him in a lot of his projects, not only in terms of interiors and furnishings, but also in terms of the bigger concept.

I think the conscious point when I said 'okay this is what I'd like to do' was in 2007. After the encouragement and response I got from all these objects, the next step was to create my own brand.

Amy Frearson: So you launched your own brand before even creating products for other brands?

Michael Anastassiades:Yes, 100 per cent. For most designers, their work is developed before. The first pieces I made were not pieces that could convince any brand to invest in me. They were great ideas, but I don't think they would be ideas that could attract a manufacturer.

Amy Frearson:How did you get your business off the ground? What were the first designs you produced?

Michael Anastassiades: I decided to focus on lighting because it was much more manageable for me, rather than opening up to the whole spectrum of furniture. I was encouraged in lighting because a lot of architects and friends were telling me they liked my ideas in lighting. So I thought, it had to be a lighting brand.

The first few years of the brand were a lot of hard work but the main breakthrough came in 2011 when I decided to I present my brand at the Salone del Mobile in Euroluce. It was quite amazing that they gave me a stand in such a competitive setting. That changed things because it was where I met Flos, where I met [former Flos CEO] Piero Gandini, and we embarked on this long journey together.

Amy Frearson: What was is like working with Flos and what impact did it have onyour own business?

Michael Anastassiades:It was an interesting match, an interesting moment. I was suddenly given this platform to approach design with a completely different level of freedom, in a sense. I wasn't 20 any more, I was already mature and I had some experience in lighting, so things were very different. I already knew what worked and what didn't work, so everything started in a very focused way, and it was enabling me to do all the things that I couldn't actually do with my own brand, because of the scale of it. Suddenly working on a much larger scale, I could use complex processes, interesting technology and more extreme ideas.

Amy Frearson: So with Flos you were able to test the kinds of ideas you weren't able to with your own brand?

Michael Anastassiades: Yes. Sothat allowed both companies to exist and support each other. Many people ask me what I give to Flos and what I keep for myself, and how these companies can work together.In a way, I gave Flos a little bit of my image and Flos gave me the freedom that I needed.

Amy Frearson: Will your relationship with Flos continue now that Piero Gandini has left the company?

Michael Anastassiades:It's different but it certainly will continue, there's no doubt about it. It's different people, different management, but the same history. I'm very hopeful that we'll find a way to figure it out.

Flos has been an amazing platform for a lot of people, butespecially for me. If you look at the experience that other designers have had within Flos, the span often goes over 15 or 20 years.In my case, it's all been so accelerated.That acceleration is also now happening for me in the furniture world. I had to catch up for all those years, but I don't feel I'm rushed into anything. It feels right.

I really feel lucky that I've been given all these opportunities to try my ideas in different fields with amazing companies. I couldn't think of myself in a better place.If I was to repeat my career, I wouldn't do it in any other way. I think that arriving at this stage of your career at a mature stage in your life is much more rewarding. You know when to say no, when to take something on or not take something on. I think that is absolutely fundamental. I don't feel the need to say yes, if I don't think something is right I will often say.Had it happened to me 20 years ago, I wouldn't be the same.

Amy Frearson: Would you advise other young designers to do the same as you, to take time finding the right path?

Michael Anastassiades:Not necessarily no. It felt right for me at that time, the type of character that I am, but some people need a more clearly defined career path. I took a very long way. It's been a long journey, but a great journey. I've tried different things and that's good because it's given me a different perspective about what I think design should be. I created this distance so that I could step away and see design in a much more clear way.

For many years, when I was struggling financially, I used to teach yoga to support myself, because I wanted to distance myself from the need to use my profession to make money and survive. I wanted to be true to my ideas so I'd rather keep my ideas independent of the idea of survival. Yes I taught a little bit and earned some money from that, but I never wanted to be a teacher in design. I preferred to be a teacher in yoga it paid the bills so I could keep my design research going.

It's funny that today very few people remember the other type of design that I used to do. It doesn't bother me of course, because it's a different audience.Identity, at the end of the day, doesn't have to be one or the other. It is what it is and that's great for me. What I've realised through my career is that I've always felt the urge to be boxed inand I never wanted to be in any of these boxes.

Amy Frearson: What otherchallenges did you face in the early days of your brand?

Michael Anastassiades:I had to learn to be an entrepreneur, which was not a skill that I had, or at least I felt that I didn't have it.I never had a finance person behind me and I never had money behind me either. I took my first loan out of the bank to subsidise the production of my first lights. It was a scary moment, but that was the only way I could do it. I had to try it.

You learn through all your mistakes and hopefully you don't make that many. The problem for a lot of people is that they start something and they feel that they hit the wall. That's human nature. We're presented with obstacles that we need to overtake and if we are not able to build up a resistance then it is easy to give up. If you do not know exactly what you're looking for, it's very difficult. You can stop many times and you can give up many times. I surprised myself sometimes when I kept going, because I really figured out what I wanted to do through a process of elimination, by actually doing the things that I didn't want to do. The sense and the logic of the sequence has only really come in the last 10 years.

Amy Frearson:What is the ethos behind the designs that you produce?

Michael Anastassiades:Nothing in this world is new, not even ideas; everything has been done before historically. The problem is lack of education and information; people are not really aware how many ideas have been recycled over so many years. Creativity dates back to human creation and it's amazing that the evolution of creativity has not been that great. We have evolved as human beings, but the notion of creativity hasn't really evolved over thousands of years. It's a moment to really accept what your contribution to the world of design can be.I relate to this kind of aesthetic that things are there and they can still be relevant over an extended history so I try to find the qualities that make timeless design.

I started going to the Salone del Mobile pretty much as soon as I graduated, trying to really understand the world of design. What I was doing at the time was nothing to do with that, but I was still fascinated with it and very attracted to it. It wasinteresting to see how all these big historic brands had this fascinating way of revamping themselves through the old classics. I wondered, what is it that makes these pieces timeless? Why do people buy the same things over and over again? Can you possibly create something new with those values in mind? I think we can.

Amy Frearson: How do you go about making an object timeless?

Michael Anastassiades:I'm not saying that everything I produce will be timeless but at least I'm conscious of it. I'm not thinking that I'm going to change the world. What is important to understand and acknowledge it that it's a much bigger challenge, to work on that level of subtlety and make a difference, rather than trying to shock with technology, new materials, innovation. I'm not saying that those things are not great, of course they are important. But it's easy to shock somebody with something new, because you attract attention. The question is, are they able to sustain that? Probably not, because if the innovation becomes an everyday thing. In less than a year that shock is not there anymore. After that, there's nothing that pulls you in.

As a designer, I believe that we need to create things that last for a long period of time. This for me is fundamental, I don't think an object should be ephemeral. I don't deal with technological products, I'm not in that kind of world, at least not yet. In lighting there is a little bit of technology, but I still don't see why things shouldn't be relevant after long periods of time. What is the need for constant change, as if we don't have enough? I think we have enough things.

Being a designer and being against consumerism in that way, it's a bit of a paradox. Our culture tries to encourage this change,this ephemerality, this newness, whatever. But it's all fake, it's all artificial.

Amy Frearson:How do you rationalise the paradox of beinga designer and being against consumerism?

Michael Anastassiades:At the end of the day, I think this iswhy people come to me andwhat attracts companies. This is my approach to design.

I don't use design as a profession, I use design to express my ideas. I think that's important. You could argue that I have a successful business, I have a successful studio, so I'm not really saying anything different. But it is different. Many times I've figured out that, if I really wanted to succeed in a certain type of design, I would be doing completely different things.For me, the idea of launching my brand was to keep full control over my ideas.

Amy Frearson: How do you develop ideas in your studio?

Michael Anastassiades:It varies. Sometimes a very abstract concept leads me to a more defined idea. I'll have a vague picture of something that actually doesn't exist, but deals with certain concepts. It's only through the process of thinking over and over again that the idea starts getting a little bit more defined and then eventually becomes something, so that when you see the end product you think it couldn't have been anything else. It's so straightforward, but it's not so simple.

Other times it's an image and you know that, by replicating that image, you can arrive at something in a different sort of process.

I enjoy the bigger concepts much more and I'm able to do that in some designs. A few of my projects for Flos are like that. String Lights, for example, were quite a new way of lighting and that started as an abstract thought.

Amy Frearson:So you never really work to briefs?

Michael Anastassiades:No never. Usually with brands it gets defined in terms of the type of object, butfrom then on it's up to me to come up with an idea that satisfies that. I think it works in that way.

I've never worked on a single brief for Flos.I've always presented concepts that I have worked on for long period of times and they have never been turned down. That's the biggest satisfaction. I believe in this level of communication that exists between manufacturer and designer. I think great things happen when that relationship is mastered.

Amy Frearson: A more recent definingmoment of your career was your retrospective exhibition at NiMAC in Cyprus. What made you decide to hold an exhibition in your home country rather than somewhere more mainstream?

Michael Anastassiades:I had various informal proposals for a big show from different institutions and in different parts of the world, but it felt right for me to do it in Cyprus. That's where I grew up. I'd never had a show of that scale before, so it made sense for it to be there.It didn't really matter whether commercially it made any sense, because it didn't, such a small place and small audience, but hopefully with the book it did travel.

Amy Frearson: What did you show in the exhibition?

Michael Anastassiades:We showed one complete body of work, which was the Mobile Chandeliers. We showed 13 mobiles in that show.You can argue that these are mobiles because they move, but they are not really mobiles; they're not structures in perfect equilibrium.But balance has always been an important concept in my work.

Amy Frearson: What elsehave you got coming up this year?

Michael Anastassiades:I have lot of new projects and new collaborations for Salone. We're extending some collaborations that we started with some brands last year, there are some new things with companies that we work with, and there are new things and new companies that have been added to the list. Last year we were given so many opportunities; it was amazing to be able to realise projects beyond the world of furniture and lighting, like the Bang & Olufsen speaker and the water fountain project. It makes me very happy to receive these invitations from completely different parts of the design world.

Amy Frearson: Is it a challenge to ensure that your brand doesn't become secondary to these new opportunities?

Michael Anastassiades:Absolutely, but my brand still remains the ultimate platform for me to express my ideas and my real passion for lighting. I need to keep that alive.

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"We need to create things that last" says Michael Anastassiades - Dezeen

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Landfill Compactor Market Exceeded Industry Evolution in Coming Year's - Fusion Science Academy

Disco was overthrown in a rock supremacist coup in Chicago in 1979. The White Soxs stadium was packed with mostly white folks bearing records by mainly black artists. An angry radio DJ named Steve Dahl led the chant of Disco sucks! before literally detonating a crate of the offensive product in centre field.

The politics of the game-changing stunt went largely unremarked at the time. But looking back from a world where every kind of music goes, cohabiting and cross-marrying in a fabulous multi-coloured and genre-fluid dance party, its hard not to be disturbed by the act of cultural fascism.

In that light, the sudden disco embrace of Moon Duos latest album is a timely gesture. Known these past 10 years for their darkly simmering psychedelic rock, the San Francisco-based duo of Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada have set the mirror ball spinning over Stars Are the Lightwith conscious intent.

Sanae Yamada and Ripley Johnson, aka Moon Duo.Credit:Brett Johnson

I wouldnt say that we made a disco record necessarily, keyboard player Yamada says, but starting some kind of creative conversation with the ideas around disco definitely led us to a different place.

While she was too young to observe the '70s club revolution first-hand, she believes that the concept of the space of the disco is something that holds a lot of relevance today.

It was a space of fluid identity and self-expression for people who maybe felt marginalised by mainstream culture. In a disco youd have amazing fashion and amazing dancing in this very expressive space where people could go and do whatever they had in mind to do and be whoever they had in mind to be. I think that type of inclusion and that type of liberation is something that holds a lot of appeal.

That might be part of what we still feel whenever a Chic or Donna Summer record throws a party into hyperdrive: freedom hardwired to the groove by the dark art of the disco beat. Whats certain is that compared with the density of Moon Duos previous two albums Occult Architecture Vol. 1 and 2 this new one is a decidedly feel-good affair.

Yamada says she was wanting really effervescent textures: sonic glitter, kind of.

Our music has always been a kind of conversation between guitar and electronic music; synthesiser and drum machine and stuff like that, so we wanted to bring the machine-type elements more on top on this record. When we finished the Occult Architecture pair of records, we had the sense that we had completed a cycle of our musical project. We had sort of found this sound as a band and cultivated it over a series of records and both Ripley and I had this sense that we needed to change our tack a bit; that to keep going with that sound, we would just end up repeating ourselves.

Its a slightly ironic turn for a band that has valued repetition, at least as a compositionalelement, for so long. While they never actively pursued the psychedelic label, fundamental elements of reiteration, drone, obscure lyrics and impressionistic sound layers have always applied.

As a member of San Francisco drone-rock experimentalistsWooden Shjips, Ripley Johnsons psychedelic allegiances are well known. Yamada met him through mutual friends when she moved there in 2004. They promptly went to a Bob Dylan concert in Berkeley (it was a great one, actually; he was playing piano most of the night), but it was in a shared love of the Velvet Underground that they found their essential aesthetic.

In that respect, Moon Duo is far from a lone voyager. Lou Reed and John Cales marriage of rock and avant-garde birthed a movement that echoes seemingly eternal, wherever walls of electric sound collide.

Yamada expresses reservations about the guitar-worshipping limitations of the so-called neo-psych movement but concedes that the ideas of transcendence and the psychedelic are in the DNA of what we are doing.

To me, the idea of psychedelia is an idea of endless expansion; an idea of revealing things in a different light; turning the mundane inside out to show its extraordinary essence somehow. Ive always loved that as a concept. I think thats a really expansive concept and it applies to a massive range of artistic expressions so Im perfectly happy to fit in with that concept of psychedelia.

Visually, Moon Duos emphasis on stage projections and trippy lighting design also draws clear lines from the mid '60s experiments of the Velvets and Pink Floyd. But inevitably, the new-found disco undertow has brought a new shimmer to this ingredient too.

Trippy lighting design accompanies Moon Duo on stage. Credit:Benny van der Plank

Last April in Manchester, in collaboration with local projection artist Emmanuel Baird, the band unveiled a show called Stardust Highway: Experiments in Stoner Disco. The intention to explore ideas of time and ritual, as well as the human desire to transcend material reality has since evolved into their current stage show.

The good news, 40 years since the night of the White Sox smackdown, is that this disco insurgence has largely escaped the wrath of the rock police. Sure there was the odd music press sulk about duff synth and tinny drum machine, but for such a brave evolution, critical response to Stars Are the Light has been overwhelmingly positive.

Thats transcendence for you.

One of the big things is just the need for connection on a really human level, Yamada says of the Duos renewed intention. The lyrics are less esoteric, less occult, as it were, than they may have been in the past. Theyre more about just the struggles of humanity. Love and loss, feeling lost and seeking out other humans. Thats kind of where this is coming from.

Moon Duo perform at Melbourne Recital Centre, Feb 11; The Zoo, Brisbane, Feb 12; and Sydneys Oxford Art Factory Feb 13.

Michael Dwyer is an arts and music writer

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Mirror ball spins anew as Moon Duo take a shine to disco - Sydney Morning Herald

After moving to the area to attend East Tennessee State University, Williams decided to stay in the region after graduating in 2005, working as a freelance artist and screen printer before taking a job at Nelson Fine Art and Frames, a position she loved until she left 10 years later.

Now, Williams has turned her full attention toward being a solo artist, working to get her screen printing business, Asterosperma, up and running while continuing to complete her own artwork in a sustainable, eco-friendly way.

Williams briefly:

Favorite local restaurant: Main St Pizza

Favorite color: Green, but also orange

Dogs or cats: Cats rule! Dogs drool!

Favorite movie: If I have to pick, Dr. Strangelove, but also Little Shop of Horrors.

Favorite music/musician: Its probably a tie between Talking Heads and Devo.

How did you first get into screen printing and illustrating?

Ive been drawing for as long as I can remember, and even as a kid, my drawings were illustrative in nature. There was always some narrative I was working with, either a story I had heard or one I invented myself. I was introduced to screen printing in art school, and I took to it like a fish to water. It not only perfectly suited my style at the time, but it has also affected the evolution of my work over the decades. Plus, it really appeals to my penchant for methodical processes.

What's your favorite part of being an artist, and whendid you realize being an artist was the career you wanted?

Thats a really hard question to answer. Its just what I do. I like being creative and making (and breaking) my own rules. Its very satisfying.It was never a conscious decision on my part. Its just something Ive always done. Its the only thing thats ever strongly appealed to me, career-wise.

What advice do you have for young/new artists?

Just finish the work, even if you mess up or hate the direction a piece seems to be going. Everything does not have to be a masterpiece, but you can still learn and take something away every time. Everything I have ever made Ive hated at some point during the process. You just have to see it through to the end.

What's your favorite thing you've made, what was the process like and why is it your favorite?

A few years ago, I completed a series of 10 prints illustrating the ancient Greek poem The Battle of the Frogs and Mice, which I was also translating from Greek at the time (a favorite hobby of mine). The process was fast paced because I was on a firm deadline. I didnt have time to get stuck on small details or overthink things. It was more like a stream of consciousness approach to image making, which isnt how I typically work.

It gave me a chance to tell a complete story from beginning to end through imagery, carefully selecting the most important scenes. It also combined two of my passions, drawing and translating ancient Greek. The work was very well received, as well, and people still bring it up to me, how much they love the story and the images years later, something that really means a lot to me as an artist.

Also, one of the images from the series was recently used on the cover of a beautiful translation of the poem, translated by Matthew Hosty and published by the Oxford University Press. I received my copy a few days ago on New Years Eve, and I can honestly say, it was this Greek language nerds happiest moment and a really great ending to a very eventful year!

Whats next for your career, aside from working on your business?

Its a very fulfilling life, but one thing that has been missing after leaving the gallery was my role in connecting artists with the community. To fill this need, Ive recently had the pleasure of joining the Johnson City Public Arts Committee, where I hope to offer my skills and knowledge to help continue the great work theyve been doing for the community.

You can find Stacie Williams work on her website, http://www.asterosperma.com, or on Instagram and Facebook, @asterosperma.

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Featured Artist: Stacie Williams cut her teeth locally before branching out on her own - Johnson City Press (subscription)

Asia is the most expensive region with five of the most expensive cities globally. Furthermore, the three most expensive cities are all in Asia.

This is according to Julius Baers inaugural Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report. It looked premium good and services at 28 cities across the world. Strangely, the cheapest to live in, Mumbai, was also in Asia.

he worlds most expensive city is Hong Kong, which ranks above the 90th percentile for property, beauty services, fine dining, business class flights, and lawyer fees.

European cities were noted for offering the best value. The best for luxurious living were Barcelona and Frankfurt. London is the priciest city in the continent with Zurich a close second.

Rajesh Manwani, head markets and wealth management solutions Asia Pacific of Julius Baer, said: The inaugural edition of Julius Baers Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report showcases the trends in high-end consumption around the world, which are of relevance to our clients. The methodology was pioneered in Julius Baers Wealth Report Asia, which has been issued since 2011. For the first time it has now been expanded to include 28 cities globally. We hope these findings will shed insight on global lifestyle trends in 2020.

The report also focused on conscious consumption or a shift to less is more.

Findings included:

Nicolas de Skowronski, head wealth management solutions and member of the Executive Board of Bank Julius Baer, added: Our analysis reveals the growing desire among consumers to balance their buying decisions with their social, environmental and political convictions. This began with the millennials, but the baton has definitely been passed down the generations now. Even Generation Alpha is getting involved, as I know from personal experience. The conscious consumer is here to stay, and we see a fast evolution of existing offerings and major investments into innovations across industries as a response to this growing demand.

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Asia host to five of the ten most expensive cities globally - Verdict

The yachting and cruise industry contributes significantly to the pollution of the seas and oceans, even if it can be difficult to forget about it as you chill on board a private superyacht or an all-inclusive cruise. Exhaust emissions, noise, wastewater and solid waste are just some of the ways in which this means of travel contributes to an already severe problem: the degradation of the Earths waters.

The superyacht industry has already started taking notice of it and is working towards greener, more efficient vessels that ditch traditional means of propulsion and incorporate means to dispose of garbage and waste through recycling or reuse. The SY200 fits right in.

SY200 is just a concept for the time being, but given the boom in interest in greener means of travel, whether on water or on land, being commissioned to be built is probably a matter of time. Its name is derived from its impressive size: its 200 feet long and is meant to be the little sister of the SY300, Briands first in the family of self-sufficient performance yachts.

The SY200 is a stunner, as newly released renders reveal. More impressively, it comes with the performance of a racing yacht and no impact on the environment, because its powered entirely by wind.

Guest areas are available on both decks, and theres a huge skylight that covers 80 percent of the length of the vessel, providing shelter from the elements and natural light, along with a view of the carbon fiber mast above. The owners aft steering station is designed as a place for guests to socialize, but theres also a table seating 16 in the cockpit, protected by a hardtop.

Unlike many of todays superyachts, the SY200 doesnt feature a pool or expansive entertainment areas. But it more than makes up for that by being completely emissions-free: it sails by the power of wind thanks to the sloop sailing rig, which works in combination with the slightly inverted bow to deliver top hydrodynamic efficiency.

Underwater turbines can charge the batteries on board: Briand says the vessel will be fitted with a 20-metric ton battery bank, more than enough to power the entire ship.

When docked, the SY200 would power silently, using the energy generated while sailing and stored in the battery bank.

I believe we need to embrace lateral thinking when it comes to the future of sailing yacht design, Briand says of the new concept, as cited by Superyacht Times.

We want to work alongside owners to create the perfect renewable energy machine, using only wind, water and solar energy to run the yacht and provide an exceptional experience of peace on board and exploration of the sea, he adds.

Briand is convinced the SY200 would appeal to the eco-conscious seafarer, but he or she would have to be willing to sacrifice some of the luxuries of modern sailing in the process. While this concept superyacht stands out for its sleek and elegant design, the focus on its reduced carbon footprint and efficiency translate into fewer amenities than todays millionaire might expect on board such a vessel.

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Phillippe Briand SY200: The Performance of a Racing Yacht With Zero Emissions - autoevolution

For the fashion-savvy bride who's buying multiple looks, Macon says the bridal stylist is also a trend that's here to stay. "With the shift in focus from just the dress to the wedding wardrobe, the role of the bridal stylist is becoming a big deal. Which is why we decided to start offering this service at Over The Moonto help brides put together a wedding weekend wardrobe that feels curated and cohesive, but also organic, and never overly styled. That extends to the bridal party, too: Matchy-matchy bridesmaids dresses are gone for good, she adds. Perhaps this is a result of the rise in bridal styling, but the old school youll wear it again, one-silhouette-fits-all bridesmaids dress seems to be [disappearing].

Last year, Rosemary Hattenbach offered a solution: Stick with a complementary palette, and let members of your bridal party wear different patterns, styles, hues, and designers that express their individual points of view. Even better, your friends will have a lot more fun if they feel good about what they're wearing, not resenting the polyesterdress you chose for them.

Like ball gowns and excessively-fancy meals, over-the-top flowers and table settings feel like relics of the past. My favorite part of the last decade was moving on from typical bridal decor to more architectural designs, wedding planner Stefanie Cove says. We also saw a shift toward longer, family-style tables, which then led to looser garland florals [instead of classic arrangements]. Im thankful that brides began to steer clear of tight centerpieces and mercury glass candles!

Planner Marcy Blum echoed Coves sentiments about florals that snake down a table and hang over the edges, which look relaxed and dont obscure your guests vision. Lynn Easton of Easton Events added that, in general, brides are more willing to experiment with color, pattern, and customization: Whether its on the plate, napkin, tablecloth, glass or all mixed together, its all about pattern play right now.

Of course, color and pattern look great in photos, too. The shift away from white-and-beige-everything may just be a result of our magpie tendencies: We need bright, eye-catching things to pique our interestotherwise we keep on scrolling. If some of Vogues recent wedding slideshows are any indication, from a Burning Man-inspired weekend in Lake Como to this fashion-forward ceremony at the new TWA terminal, weddings will be even bolder (and more fun!) in the 2020s. And maybe more dazzling, too: How many brides and grooms will toast the 20s with a Great Gatsby-style bash? If and when that becomes the next trend, youll know where to read about it.

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How Weddings Changed Over the Last DecadeAnd What's Next for 2020 - Vogue