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S SECESSIONIST When Ronald Lauder, son of beauty legend Estée Lauder, opened the Neue Galerie on New York City's Upper East Side, he knew he was sharing his love of Viennese art and design with the world, but he probably didn't think he would be setting a fashion trend. The Wiener Werkstätte and the Secessionist movement that came out of Vienna in the early 20th century are influencing fashion and home design. Fabric manufacturer Maharam has reissued the fabrics of Dagobert Peche, and young designers like Proenza Schouler are picking up on the colors and graphic detail of the period.
SUSTAINABLE Innovative companies like the wildly successful organic-food chain Whole Foods Market and the Swedish mass-market furniture retailer Ikea have helped introduce the idea of sustainable lifestyle to the contemporary culture. Now Whole Foods has built a 2,000-sq.-ft. lifestyle store in West Hollywood out of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials, and the company even uses reclaimed and reused furniture for displays. For its recent PS collection, Ikea asked 28 designers to think up ingenious ways to use such recycled materials as wood and plastic to create new home-décor products like the Ellan rocking chair while maintaining the company's commitment to the environment and social responsibility.
T TAO Tokyo designer Tao Kurihara, 32, has quietly grabbed the fashion world's eye with her delicate corsets and innovative handkerchief-inspired trench coats. A protégé of Rei Kawakubo, Tao graduated from London's Central Saint Martins design school before going to work for Comme des Garçons. She is among a handful of designers to watch in Paris.
TORY BY TRB When New York City socialite Tory Burch first started cooking up the idea of a glamorous but affordable line of easy fashion in early 2003, she never dreamed it would become a runaway success. Now Burch, the mother of three boys and a fashion public relations veteran, cannot keep up with the demand for her'70s-style embroidered tunics and neo-geo print shirts. With three stores, a handbag line and an upcoming shoe line under her belt, Burch has unknowingly launched an empire.
U UPDATED A row of 18th century houses along the Amstel River has been reborn as seven hotel rooms, called the Lute Suites. Dutch designer Marcel Wanders contributed to the simultaneously modern and classical décor with pieces like his white neo-baroque SoapStars bathroom accessories. And Italian glassware firm Bisazza hired Marco Braga to reinvent a Venetian tradition in the entrance hall of Florence's Una Vittoria Hotel. On a computer, Braga designed a 54-hue floral mosaic made of sintered glass cubed tiles.
V VACUUMS It's a ball, it's a chair, it's Airpouf ! This home appliance doubles as a piece of furniture, with holes for a draft tube, start button and air vent. On its DC15 Animal vacuum with the Ball, Dyson swapped rear wheels for a motorized ball to keep the center of gravity near the floor and suck up pet hair with a twist of the wrist—no more push and pull. Finally, German manufacturer Sebo's Felix Fun in retro orange and purple was designed flat to the floor for maneuverability.