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Japandi : Wedding at the antipodes

The word is at the top of all the style charts. But what is the Japandi that everyone is talking about? Marketing stunt or real creative find, zoom on a trend that mixes genres.

Scandinavian and Japanese styles were made for each other. Because of their obvious minimalist affinities and because between mix & match and bohemian chic, the fashion is for happy marriages. Seduced by a name as evocative as a good slogan, decorating brands were quick to claim to be Japandi, highlighting pieces in their catalogs that tick the boxes: natural materials (wood, bamboo, paper), neutral and matte colors, and a sober and rational design that multiplies the nods to the East. According to Juniqe, both cultures “celebrate the beauty of simple things and pay close attention to detail” while For Me Lab points out “similarities between Wabi Sabi and Hygge”.

From the Wood collection (Superfront) to Hasslarp facades (IKEA), via the feng shui kitchen (Nordiska Kök), the dual references to traditional Japanese elegance and Nordic rigor have become omnipresent. So much so that this spring, searches for Scandinavian decor have increased by 55% on the online sales site Etsy (81 million users), and 172% for Japanese decor. And if for Drawer.fr, “Japandi is the trend of the year”, other brands like 4MURS even go so far as to directly name their products or even entire collections after this hybrid trend.

 

by Pierre Lesieur