From ‘less is more’ to ‘less is a bore’
Erotic cowboys. Couture aliens. Fabulous dinosaurs. Patterns. On patterns. On patterns. Ugly fashion. Ugly art. Colour. More colour. 2018, meet maximalism - this year’s grandest aesthetic.
Hold up. Before we delve into how maximalism has reared its five glorious, Gucci-encrusted dragon heads from the recesses of history and is having a resurgence in art, fashion, design and advertising - let’s quickly remind ourselves about why minimalism has had such a hold on the world, until now.
Minimalism provided a much-needed sense of peace, rationality and order in the shared anxiety of the post-war era. Characterised by an abundance of white space, clean lines, simple colour palettes and stripped-back design, minimalism removes anything of excess or complication. Functional, indeed. But after so many years of rigorous rules, reductionism and empty space, what was once ground-breaking and fresh is now commonplace and to be blunt, kinda boring.
Maximalism might not bring function to design, but it sure as hell brings the fun. It’s ridiculous, gaudy and over the top (depending on who you ask). But it’s also lively, memorable, cheeky and devilishly stylish when done right. It’s a welcome departure from the sternness of minimalism.
Fluent City cites maximalism as “a reaction against minimalism... an aesthetic of excess and redundancy.” Charlotte Rivers (author of Maximalism: The Graphic Design of Decadence & Excess) talks about it as celebrating “...richness and excess in graphic design, characterized by decoration, sensuality, luxury and fantasy.”
Maybe it’s the hedonist in me (an online analysis of my Twitter feed told me that), but something about celebrating excess and redundancy just feels... good. Like something that’s been forbidden for years but is now ours to own and relish in. There’s a sense of freedom to it... like reading 50 Shades of Grey on the bus and not giving a damn (I really saw someone do that once).
Maximalism is about designing with:
No fear
Layering
Repetition
Optical illusions
Little-to-no white space
Patterns
Play
Outrageous colour combos
Anti-seriousness (seriously)
To put it very millennial-y; it’s all a bit extra. Now, enough from me. Let’s look at it in practice.
En Vogue - GUCCI
Alessandro Michele - Creative Director @ Gucci - knows how to create a maximalist aesthetic worthy of a bow (or ten).
There's a confident sense of bombast in his new work that cuts quite a contrast from the slightly nerdier, quirkier, Wes Andersonian feeling of his earliest collections. Likewise, it requires self-assurance of Queen Bey proportions to pull of head-to-toe gold sequins with an embroidered tiger with Elton John glasses or a pink lurex pant suit with layers of sci-fi ruffles. In short, the Gucci girl has become mega-famous with a wardrobe to match. - Kenya Hunt, 2016
And it seems to be paying off, with the brand's sales on a steady incline under his creative direction.
In Culture - Heavenly Bodies
The 2018 MET Gala’s theme ‘Heavenly Bodies; Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’, is a great example of maximalism, and again signifies the growing trend in fashion, art and culture.
Since opening, the exhibition has seen over one million visitors, making it the Costume Institute’s most attended show in history, according to The Met.
In Art - Yayoi Kusama
Probably best to just google image search Yayoi Kusama. That’ll say more than I ever could.
In ad-land - Toilet Paper x Kenzo
Toiletpaper mag (Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari) have a very particular aesthetic. They teamed up Parisian fashion house Kenzo to create a pretty outrageous campaign for their AW14 collection - all inspired by David Lynch and heavily reliant on maximalism.
In other places
Some cite Kanye West’s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ as a contemporary work of maximalism.
Basically anything by Baz Luhrmann.
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So - if minimalism was born from a world craving a newfound sense of order, simplicity, structure and calmness (and excuse me for getting a bit ‘meta’ here) - does this too suggest that the growing maximalism trend might be born from a world that’s simply... had enough? A world that craves distraction and excitement, one that’s used to impending nuclear doom, AI overlords, jokes becoming president or a never ending supply of memes? Or does it just look cool? Who really knows. And, to be honest, who really cares?
The world of maximalism embraces imperfection and provocation, banishing isolation and passivity on both the part of the work and the viewer. The source material is both art history and personal history, untidily accumulated and repackaged—once more, with feeling. - Janelle Zara
Bronte Wilson is an Art Director at AnalogFolk Sydney. Find her here.