Trends · 6 min read
Quiet materials
Against trend: why we design for the fifth year of ownership rather than the first week.
Ines Carvalho · September 16, 2025
Most product photography shows an object at its least interesting moment: the day it was made. Nothing has happened to it yet. The honest question is what it looks like in year five.
Materials that improve
- Vegetable-tanned leather — darkens and softens, records use.
- Long-staple cashmere — blooms after washing, holds shape.
- High-fired stoneware — glaze develops fine crazing that reads as depth.
- Solid gold — polishes itself against skin and other metals.
Materials that only decline
Coated canvas, plated brass, bonded leather and short-fibre knits share one trait: their best day is their first. They are not dishonest materials, but they are honest about a different intention.
How to judge before you buy
Ask what will change. If the answer is nothing, the object is finished. If the answer is a list — colour, hand, surface, weight — you are buying something that will still be interesting when the trend that produced it is over.
