International committee blog january 2014: africa's impact on british interior design

This month, on behalf of the International Committee, I thought I’d talk
about how Africa is impacting on interior design in the UK.  “London is
alive with African culture and new designers creating homeware in
vibrant colours
and patterns”, says Kate Burnett of the Evening Standard. Call me
biased, but having been born and brought up in Zimbabwe, I instinctively
keep my eyes peeled for African design, and it is becoming increasingly
visible.



During the London Design Festival 2013 Habitat ran an exhibition in
their Platform space on King’s Road unveiling a collaboration called
Graphic Africa. This exhibition showcased important contemporary work by
16 leading designers from 10 countries in East, West and Southern
Africa.



These 16 designers form the Design Network Africa (DNA), which supplies
Southern African design to the leading retailers around the world. 
Thanks to a combination of Western skills and ideas with African
materials, patterns and techniques, we are seeing products with the
vibrant colours and strong graphics we associate with Africa. These
designers are creating a new definition for African design that is much
more widely available and ties in perfectly with current trends in Western fashion and interiors.



With Cape Town being declared as World Design Capital for 2014, the
continent of Africa is now sitting very firmly on the international
design landscape. Cape Town’s style is big, bold and spectacular,
offering gorgeous designs at dream prices.



If you’re thinking of taking in some of what Cape Town has to offer in
2014,  keep an eye on the World Design Capital – Cape Town 2014 website http://www.wdccapetown2014.com/home/