Design Trends 2008

  • Myto Chair

    Culture Buzz A cantilevered plastic chair that defines new ways of making furniture. Besides being a striking-looking piece of design, the Myto is an unusual collaboration between designer Konstantin Grcic and the chemical company BASF, which altered the chemical make-up of its plastic to be able to conform to his specifications.

  • Heelless Heels

    Style Buzz Designer Antonio Beradi unveils 5 1/2 inch high heels that have no heels, which have already been snatched up by Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow. The snakeskin pair Victoria Beckham just got should match perfectly with the wacky creations that Christian Siriano is going to whip up for her.

  • Self-Watering Planter

    Style Buzz Grobal, designed by Treg Bradley and Karim Rashid, is a planter for people who have a hard time remembering to water their plants. The marketing copy for Grobal is full of phrases like “techno-organic base” and “a material visualization of digital and sensual technology and nature synthesizing,” but we just think it looks good.

  • Nubrella

    Style Buzz A new umbrella design that acts more like a huge helmet. It’s got straps that will let you use it hands-free, so you can concentrate on your texting-while-walking skills. We hope they bring these to New York soon; we’ve had our eyes nearly poked out during rainstorms too many times to count.

  • Optimus Maximus Keyboard

    Tech Buzz A Russian-designed computer keyboard made up of tiny OLEDs is fetching $2000 and up on eBay. You can customize this keyboard to use any language, including HTML and math functions. Which sounds awesome, considering that typing out all those umlauts and upside down question marks really slows down our IMing.

  • Matryoshkas

    Style Buzz Matryoshkas or Russian Nesting Doll designs are everywhere. We can’t get enough of these cute Russian Dolls. Matryoshkas are popping up as design elements in everything from textiles and stationary to tech toys and evites.

  • I Am Not A Paper Cup

    Style Buzz A double-walled porcelain cup with a silicone lid, pretending to be your old coffee cup standby. We somehow like these way better than those sanctimonious “I Am Not A Plastic Bag” totes.


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