Vintage design refers to an item of another era that holds important and recognizable value. This style can be applied to

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

, decor and other areas. Vintage design is popular and vintage items have risen in price. Outlets of vintage design have shifted from thrift store to

shabby chic Shabby chic is a style of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their appearance of age and signs of wear and tear or where new items are distressing, distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique. At the sa ...

stores.

Terminology

There is debate over what determines if an item is ''vintage''. Some rely on the definition of anything old and of value. The most widely accepted definition used by antique and vintage professionals is anything older than 40, (and less than 100,) years old. The terms vintage,

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

, and

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

are oftentimes used interchangeably and have some overlay, however the words possess different meanings. ''Retro'' refers to a style iconic of a previous era. ''Vintage'' generally refers to an item of high-quality materials and/or craftmanship, that is characteristic of a specific time period or artist, and is between 40 and 100 years old. Lastly, ''antique'' refers to an item of the previous era or at least 100 years old. A related term is '' antiquity'', which indicates something of past eras, or simply put, ancient. The word vintage originated in Late Middle English from Old French and Latin origins.

Popularity

Downtown Tuscaloosa Historic District Vintage Ad

Vintage items spark interest in many. The United States Department of Labor tells us that, "Design and fashion trends play an important part in the production of furniture. The integrated design of the article for both esthetic and functional qualities is also a major part of the process of manufacturing furniture." The popularity of vintage design and vintage inspired items can be seen through media. In 2004 designer

Nicolas Ghesquière Nicolas Ghesquière (; born 9 May 1971) is a French-Belgian fashion designer who has been the women's creative director of the house of Louis Vuitton (owned by LVMH) since 2013. Early life Ghesquière was born in Comines, Nord, the younger of ...

created a line for

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( ) is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to C ...

which called back to older collections.

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directe ...

's collection for her also uses references to the past. Vintage design can also be seen in ads which promote vintage inspired clothing. There are several reasons for vintage design's popularity. Some claim the phenomenon is due to the rarity and classic value of the items. Others state the reason to be a result of nostalgia creating a positive emotional appeal for people toward a decade of their childhood, or other experience.

Subcategories

Vintage design contains various subcategories reflecting the vast diversity of aesthetics that make up traditional and 20th century design styles.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

is a style containing curved lines, flowers and other plants, contrasting colors, ornate colors, young women, and intricate details. It was created at the end of the 1800s and gained popularity at the start of the 1910s.

Art Deco

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

was created to intentionally embrace a clean, modern, and man-made look, developed and popular from the 1920s and reaching its peak in the 1930s. This style features mostly geometric shapes, symmetrical patterns, and idealized human figures.

Mid-century modern

Mid-century modern style makes use of straight, clear lines, curved objects, wood tones, thin supporting, and oversized objects. It is meant to call back to the mid-20th century.

Atomic Age

Referring to the period roughly corresponding to 1940–1963, the

Atomic Age The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear weapon, The Gadget at the ''Trinity'' test in New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, during World War II. Although nuclear chain reactio ...

includes elements of space exploration, scientific discovery, and

futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

, creating an idea of an "optimistic, modern world". Atomic Age design became popular and instantly recognizable, with a use of atomic motifs and space age symbols.

International Style

International Style design contains broad block letters in fonts such as

Helvetica Helvetica (originally Neue Haas Grotesk) is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the famous 19th century (1890s) ...

(see Swiss Style for further information on the typographic style) and sleek, modern lines invoking Mies-ian simplicity and a cosmopolitan aire.

Seventies

The styles of the 1970s are incredibly popular in vintage design, recalling the aesthetics of

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

and other

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

groups of the era. Use of natural color combinations such as the well-known '

harvest gold ''Harvest Gold'' is a 1945 Australian industrial film about a farmer who clings to old methods of production. Synopsis The film explores various aspects of mechanical farming, from clearing the land to harvesting, and deals with the clash of at ...

avocado green Shades of chartreuse are listed below. Historically, many of these colors have gone under the name of either yellow or green, as the specifics of their color composition was not known until later. Wrapping the spectrum into a color wheel In a ...

, and

burnt orange In optics, orange has a wavelength between approximately 585 and 620 nm and a hue of 30° in HSV color space. In the RGB color space it is a secondary color numerically halfway between gamma-compressed red and yellow, as can be seen in ...

' was widespread, as were psychedelic colors and designs such as paisley.

Punk

The

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

counterculture style of the late 1970s and 1980s is reused today. It contains harsh lines, clashing colors, juxtaposition, and 'edgy' imagery to create an anti-authoritarian aesthetic.

Postmodernism

Postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

as a style incorporates bold colors and abstract geometric motifs with intentionally humorous references to past architectural and design traditions, popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Whereas 'less is more' was a tenet of modernism, postmodern architect

Robert Venturi Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major architectural figures of the twentieth century. Together with h ...

quipped 'less is a bore'. Postmodernism has heavily influenced the

vaporwave Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music, visual art style, and Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, elevator music, elevator, contemporary ...

aesthetic.

References

Design Cultural trends Antiques Retro style Collecting Nostalgia {{Design-stub