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FeedNeed for Speed
Fresh takes on a timeless design
by alyssa ford and colby johnson
Photo by emeco
Streamline Modern
10-06 “Navy” chair (1944) for Emeco
The “Streamline” decades of the 1930s and ’40s began when industrial designers found a new, surprising fan base: the American public. Paramount and Movie-Tone played newsreels featuring sleek-styled cars, trains, and planes—such as the 1936 Douglas DC-3 screaming through the sky. These engineering feats expressed dynamism, fluidity, upward motion, and modernism—everything the Great Depression was not. Mass-produced consumer products appeared with teardrop forms, bullet shapes, and parallel “speed lines,” created by such leading designers as Walter Dorwin Teague, Norman Bel Geddes, Henry Dreyfuss, and Raymond Loewy. Even the stationary—toasters, pencil sharpeners, and desk lamps—took on new, aerodynamic styling. The “Streamline” look continues to capture the American imagination, even in 2007.For more information on featured products and suppliers, please reference our Buyer's Guide.
1. “Layla” ladle set for Umbra, $220. 2. “Yin-Yang” stainless steel bath for Diamond Spas, $17,300.
3. “Jaffa” desk lamp for Lalique, $1,350. 4. “Airstream” faucet for AF New York, $844 and up.
Photos provided by Umbra, Diamond Spas, Lalique, and AF New York
11 ISSUES (1 YEAR)
