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The Patternity book, selfies and seeing patterns everywhere

— by Alyson Walsh

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‘Seeing patterns everywhere from the mundane to the magnificent’ is how Patternity describe their vision; and the reason why I love following the creative consultants on Instagram (@patternity). From local architecture to Amazon Rainforests, the pattern-spotters share beautiful images online and I like the idea that ‘paying more attention to the everyday can make us more mindful and connected to our environment and each other,’ as Patternity’s Anna Murray told Wallpaper magazine. Instagram has certainly made me take a much closer look at my surroundings. Murray is a photographer and art director and together with product designer Grace Winteringham makes up Team Patternity. I first spotted their work when they launched a range of hand-printed tights several years ago, and subsequently met them when they showed a collection of monochrome ceramics at London Design Festival. Since then, the Patterniteam have collaborated on many bespoke projects with brands including Nike, Céline, Levi’s, Clarks and COS:

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Clarks Desert boots and Chinti & Parker jumper from Patternity archive

And now there’s a book, Patternity: a new way of seeing, containing essays on their philosophy as well as striking visuals. At Somerset House, over the weekend (as part of this year’s London Design Festival), I couldn’t resist popping on a Patternity poncho and immersing myself in the monochrome, highly Instagrammable space the brand had created in collaboration with Paperless Post.

That's Not My Age, Patternity-106 copy

Did you hear about the man who died last week taking a selfie at the Taj Mahal? And no, that’s not a joke. He stepped backwards and fell down some steps. Every time I go into central London there are hoards of selfie stick-waving tourists in front of Buckingham Palace/the London Eye/the fountain in Trafalgar Square, which is fine but when you’re more interested in sharing a picture of yourself on Instagram than what’s going on in the real world, it’s not surprising when somebody comes a cropper. Murray is definitely right about paying more attention…

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‘Seeing patterns everywhere from the mundane to the magnificent’ is how Patternity describe their vision; and the reason why I love following the creative consultants on Instagram (@patter…