Soft Power and Soft Furnishings in the Post-war Interior

Mason, Lisa; Wilkins, Carys

Soft Power and Soft Furnishings in the Post-war Interior

Resource type

Conference paper (unpublished)

Creator (person)

Mason, Lisa

Wilkins, Carys

Abstract

In 1971 an exhibition opened at the Design Centre in London entitled ‘Kaleidoscope: Diversity by Design’. The exhibition launched a novel interior design scheme, funded by the Department of the Environment, and designed by Bernat Klein (1922 – 2014). The scheme was deceptively simple in its aims: via a series of three volumes, consumers could choose colour co-ordinating fabrics to create a harmonious interior. The guide was intended for use within government offices, embassies, hospitals, universities, museums, and accommodation for the armed forces. At this point in time, the UK government was the largest single purchaser of furniture and furnishings; with an annual spend of £35 million, which equated to 2.5 million meters of furnishing fabrics. The launch of the Bernat Klein designed scheme was intended to standardise this process, whilst at the same time providing a degree of flexibility. The textiles were all manufactured in Britain and a secondary stated aim was to ‘promote good design on a large scale’. Taking as its starting point the Bernat Klein collection at National Museums Scotland and the Council of Industrial Design archive at Brighton University, this paper will explore the ways in which the British government used progressive textile design to project a carefully crafted image onto the world stage in the context of the Cold War. It will also consider how exhibitions were used as tools of both entertainment and propaganda in post-war Britain.