This is a bit of a curious one; it seems the rejection of bling has begun, and celebrities and artists alike are embracing the new way to do black: Matte. Shiny is gone and everyone wants their black understated, expensive and mysterious looking. First white was cool (remember the PCs of the mid 90s? Slightly off-white… mmm), then black came in, then the iPod was born, and white was the way forward again (who had a white Samsung Chocolate phone? I did. Immense), but suddenly, people feel like a bit of a change, and it’s all about the black once again. But not as we know it; maybe it’s this ‘age of austerity’, maybe it’s a physical representation of the mood of the recession, maybe people don’t want to see their faces reflected back at them anymore – but Matte is taking hold.

From The Evening Standard: “It’s a trend that came from the custom houses in California. It’s our most popular covering,” says Clive Sutton, whose luxury car dealership specialises in transforming the extravagant vehicles of London’s elite with a matte black finish. Having your supercar decked out in matte black is the hottest trend in Hollywood, with stars like David Beckham, Justin Bieber and fresh-out-of-jail Lindsay Lohan all spotted driving them.”

Interesting. But it now seems to be leaking into other areas; Mac released a matte black nail gloss earlier this year- which everyone went crazy for. Asda have done their own version (can you believe, for £1) and it’s weird – a bit like putting poster paint on your nails – but in a good way I think.

So while researching this trend I came across this French Art Collective called Forza Mat; and they perfectly sum up the concept and it’s reasons. The site is in french so get your GCSEs out… or use Google translator. They have a manisfesto, which, from what I gather, is all about the idea that matte black is a new way to capture the space and relationship between colour and material, texture and light.

Basically, they procure objects; anything from a Fiat 500 (which I think is an official collaboration) to a lightbulb, and paint it entirely in Matte black – in this way it is reduced purely to it’s form, no pattern, no colour, no light, just the essence of the object. ‘It becomes like a magnet, whose powerful gravity draws in sounds, air, suffocates any breath… An armor that hides all but the minimal, and transforms objects into contemporary fossils, imposes its difference with the mystery and intensity of its opacity, and as a Pandora’s box seems to contain within itself all the secrets.’ Very black hole. Not perfectly translated but I think you get the idea; it’s a lovely concept.

My mum has a Fiat 500, it’s beautiful to drive, it’s not as sexy as this though. This is fit.

I think the beauty of these objects is clear; they seem to have gained weight, importance; transcending them from an ordinary ‘thing’ to something with a solid place in the world. Matte seems to have this power; gloss is all about the ‘look at me’ – Matte just is. It’s lovely.

I am now proceeding to paint everything I own matte black, starting from my bedroom. “BLACK! BLACK LIKE THE ENDLESS CHASM OF SPACE! They’re here, they’re here, they’ve landed on the pier!’

Related Posts with Thumbnails