Design According to Moss
The acclaimed SoHo store owner highlights the design trends he sees emerging around the world, from the human touch to low-tech approaches
Before Murray Moss was hailed as a "retail guru" by New York Magazine or won a National Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, he studied acting. Which perhaps explains the theatrical element to Moss, his SoHo store, which has become a design mecca.
The watches and housewares and furniture for sale -- a collection of the most inventive industrial design from around the world -- are presented on stage-like platforms, and the displays change almost daily.
Since opening the store in 1994, Moss has attained prominence in the field, and he has come to be recognized as an arbiter of good design, a role he doesn't like. "I don't represent the state of design today," he says. "I don't represent a balanced picture of the design landscape. I could end up with a store full of blue objects made by German women. That's why the store is called Moss. It's about what resonates with me."
That said, what resonates with Moss is worth noting, as few people have such an inside track on design ideas bubbling up around the world. And in his keynote address at the recent biennial conference of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, he laid out what he sees as the biggest emerging trends. The following slides show examples of them.