:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thenational/MLB2XTAM22SPHOB4YFDPY4NGPQ.jpg)
Over the past few seasons we have spoken of a quieter, more considered design aesthetic with a pared-down simplicity or whispered wow factor. As we look ahead to the Autumn/Winter 2012/13 season and our obsession with clean air and well-being continues to grow, we see this evolving into a very pure and clean aesthetic.
Across all design disciplines a luminous and icy trend will emerge: iridescent outlines, kaleidoscopic glow effects, transparencies, luminous plasmas and stereoscopic imagery create diffractions of light and spectacular visual effects much like the aurora borealis. There is a delicacy present in the idea of invisibility, barely there tints, crystals, moire patterns and glacial effects.
This is a look with definite soothing qualities. The calmness of the styling is reflected in an ethereal colour palette of uber pale tints, iridescent shimmers, foiled metallics and ice cold platinum. We'll begin to see a colourful range of light bursts: refractions and reflections, chromatic plays, pearlescents, ultra violet and laser lights, optical fibres and halos of light.
Lines flow flawlessly and are clean and simple, as are the shapes, with perfect spheres and cones creating a fascinating new breed of unpretentious yet exciting interior products including furniture, lighting and accessories. Surfaces are smooth and glacial with the appearance of an inner glow.
Last month at London Design Festival's Tent exhibition, I was introduced to the exquisite work of the London-based designer Bodo Sperlein, and it took my breath away. His latest collection, in collaboration with the Japanese company Nikko, perfectly captures the quiet, ethereal beauty of this trend.
The collection includes a range of designs - Blossom, Voyage, Cloud Décor and Macaroon - that work harmoniously together. A delicate palette of pale tints has been skilfully used with colours fading like a wash of paint in water. This work is a "Western re-imagining of Eastern values" with Sperlein cleverly "fusing two cultures to create a collection that responds and adds to the dining needs of both". The designer has created an organic collection of dinner and serveware where the individual components can be artfully composed on the table for dining or, when not in use, cleverly arranged to create pleasing ceramic displays.
I was so captivated by the long delicate spoons, elegant tea service, and array of bowls and plates that I have promised myself I'll begin collecting, starting with the Blossom bowls and adding pieces over time. The poetic forms elevate the experience of dining at home and I for one look forward to sharing the pleasure of exquisite dining with my family and friends.
Shelley Pond is the creative director of Scarlet Opus. For more information visit www.trendsblog.co.uk or www.twitter.com/scarletopus. For more information on Bodo Sperlein's Blossom collection, visit www.nikko-bodosperlein.com