2005 Furnishings: What's in a Name?

2005 Furnishings Whats in a Name
Manufacturers of new furniture are grappling with a growing vagueness in fashion nomenclature largely by ignoring the contradictions.

A slew of new products on parade at the biannual International Furniture Market in High Point, N.C., the largest showing of new furniture items and accessories in the world, share the same descriptions, but couldn't look more different.

"Vintage modern," "classic modern" and "modern classic" were used to refer to everything from PVC patio furniture to elegant Scandinavian designs reminiscent of a 1930s home. The market ended on Wednesday, but most products presented won't be available locally until the fall.

"Classic," "traditional," "modern" and "contemporary" seemed to be the most popular descriptors, but because of overuse, they are all but meaningless.

To be clear we consulted the second edition of the "Dictionary of Design Since 1900."

The "Modern" era stopped in the '50s, and "post-Modernism " stretched comfortably into the '80s, but the term is now feeling out-of-date, and "post post-Modern" has a small contingent of supporters. "Contemporary" had a brief reign from 1945-1956 and was popularized in Britain, including bright colors and mixing organic and spiky forms, such as the paintings of Joan Miro or items such as the kitsch ball clock.