He is hailed as the father of color theory. She is revered as the modern textile artist. The distinctive works of the Josef and Anni Albers hang at museums all over the globe, and soon they’ll be hanging around your house. Seriously! Today we have a very exciting debut at ICFF in New York (and online)—we’re partnering up with The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation for an amazing, artful collection of products for the table, living room, bedroom, and bath.

You know the story: the two were visionary pioneers of modern art and dedicated, dynamic teachers (spending time at Bauhaus, Black Mountain College, and Yale). Yet for some, the name “Albers” synonymous with a single image: the square. And while Homage To Square’s significance cannot be overstated (nor explained in our humble blog post), there’s so much more to the story of Josef and Anni.

Seeking to break outside the box and engage a new audience, the Foundation has worked with Fab to open up the wonderful, colorful world of these modern masters. Today’s launch is full of designs inspired by Anni Albers’ prints—Triangulated Intaglio, E, Meander, and Camino. Nicholas Fox Weber, the Foundation’s Executive Director and the foremost expert on all things Albers, kindly shares his expertise and memories of Anni with us today.

First things first, can you tell us a little about the establishment of the Albers Foundation and your mission?

The Foundation was created by Josef and Anni Albers in 1970. Its goal and mission are ” the revelation and evocation of vision through art.”Anni knew she wanted to study art from a young age—which was a pretty radical decision for a woman at the time.

Can you tell us about other ways that she defied conventions and fought for her independence?

There was one obstacle after another. But her parents hired an art tutor for her, Toni Meyer, nicknamed Tonuscha, who had her draw from the nude. Odel. her art teacher, Martin Brandenberg, forbade the use of black, and Anni wanted to use it anyway. A scene came. There were tears, an argument with her mother, and then an apology. For an exam at school, she was told she had drawn a seated woman with her skirt too short. She went to study with Kokoschka, who told her she should go home and become a housewife. She told her father, a furniture manufacturer, about the Bauhaus, and he said, “What do you mean a new style? We have had the Renaissance. We have had the Baroque. There are no new styles.” But she made her way to Weimar, met Josef, and the rest is history.

Many know Anni primarily as a textile maker, but her prints are amazing. Even more amazing is that she started this new medium when she was in her 70s! How did the change in medium open up new creative possibilities for her? 

Anni always listened to the materials and the technique. She saw that lithography allowed her to give the impression of an acid bat. Screenprinting meant that lines which in were jagged in weaving could now be straight. Photo offset allowed for instant reversals of images, and for the effects that occur when you put a negative over a velox. Each printmaking technique was an invitation to explore.

Anni had an affinity for practical objects—used as materials and on their own—do you think she would gravitate towards a particular set of objects from the Fab collaboration?

The melamine. She loved synthetic materials that were easy to clean. 

When considering Josef and Anni Albers, how can we see the influence of each on the other?

They were like a two person religious sect. They believed in creation as the essence of life. Everything for them was about morality and honesty and beauty, in art as in living. They never worked side by side, yet they believed absolutely in the same values.

Anni and Josef were also highly respected, influential teachers. What are some lessons artists and creative minds can take away from their teachings?  

The need to experiment, to respond to what happens during the process, to keep your eyes open and to impose ideas, to recognize that self-expression is personal, whereas pure art can provide balance and beauty in life for people all over the world.

Are there any prints of Anni’s that have special resonance for you?

The Line Involvements are haunting, with a rich sense of discovery and liberation. The Orchestra series shows such courage, the eagerness to go on even when she was so frail. She showed that even when her hand was shaking, she used rather than fought the shake.

Curious to learn more about the Albers and their impact on the art world? Dive into their history at The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. And pick up a piece of artful tabletop, inspired by Anni’s work during  today’s sale.

 Meredith Spencer 

NY-based industrial designer Todd Bracher creates furniture, lighting, and home accessories that are handsome, engaging, and strikingly simple in form. Named the New Designer of the Year at ICFF in 2008, he was previously the head of Tom Dixon’s design studio, as well as the Creative Director of Denmark’s Georg Jensen. Several of Bracher’s home goods are currently available on Fab, including some beautiful pieces he created for Fritz Hansen, Cappellini, HBF, and more.

Todd was kind enough to chat with us about his influences and share some photographs of his studio, which is located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Can you tell us a little bit about your process? 

When you first see our work you may think of minimalism or some process of reduction. I like to see our work as ‘essentialism’, or meaning in an additive way… We add one element at a time, just enough to communicate our idea and nothing more. I am not interested in complexity, I am interested in simplicity, however, it has to be simplicity with soul and richness.

What are your current inspirations or influences?

I am most inspired by travel. I prefer experiences that I have never had before. Food I have never eaten, music and sounds I have never heard. This for me is the fresh air I need to find inspiration. When the simple aspects of the world appear new again.

You have worked in Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, London, and now Brooklyn. Do you feel like your surrounding environment has an impact on your work?

I would say yes and no. Depends on the work we are doing. I can say the destination for the work is most important. We tailor our approach to suit which culture is intended to live with our work. There is something to say however for the context we are in while working. I prefer to think all of those cities are my ‘studio’. It is not like we only do the work from a single point in the world… with the travel and the collaborators, the space in which we work from is truly global.

What are your favorite types of projects to work on?

Projects that we have never done before. We are currently working on a public vending machine, a wall panel system, new lighting technologies, consumer electronics, and so on. I hope to continue our growth in new avenues and adventures. This is how we learn… we research these new projects and become experts rather quickly. Life, and therefore work, is so much more interesting this way.

In other words, I would love to design the food on the menu as much as designing the restaurant itself.

If you could collaborate with anyone, from the past or the present, who would you pick?

I would love to collaborate with Charles Darwin. We share similar ideals about the world around us. I like to think that I approach my design work with the same approach and processes that Darwin had in mapping out his theory for evolution.  That logic aligns to the ‘essentialist’ approach I’ve developed for my work.

Antonia Blair

Listen up, gentlemen! Tomorrow, we’re selling the most exquisitely dapper cufflinks you’ll ever come across, courtesy of Monsieur Fox. We were curious about the mysterious muse behind these handcrafted gems and asked Kevin Miller to investigate. 

Dashing, daring, with enough panache to go around the whole forest, he just might be the most interesting fox in the world. Monsieur Fox is the allegorical animal that represents the suave accessories brand by the same name. His likeness and limbs are ever present in the brand’s sterling silver cufflinks, so we thought we’d ask the sly devil what makes him so dapper. We got a whole lot of wisdom back, channeled through Monsieur’s human counterpart, Adrian Azodi.

What makes accessories like cuff links and tie clips so crucial to an outfit?

It’s one of those little details that put the bow on the gift, so to speak. It’s easy to wear a blazer, shirt, and tie. But, when you add in a few key elements, these accessories add a sense of panache that can’t be beat; it’s the difference between someone who likes having their time taken from them and someone who takes time for themselves. 

How can men of intrigue connect with their fashionable side in a masculine way?

Men of intrigue are rare these days, although there seems to be resurgence in the past few years. From the 1500s onwards, those with the ability actively sought rare, unique items to furnish their wardrobes, collections, or manor houses with worthwhile little treasures. For the modern man, a sense of mystery and desire can be evoked in those around him, by wearing something truly unique or unusual, giving him just the right touch of the eccentric that will rouse the interest of a passing lady to spark up a conversation. 

You seem to have lived a full life. What’s your advice for men looking to get the most out of their life, and looks?

Ah, well thank you, to be honest, for me the secret is serendipity. Time and time again I’ve found that had I not done things of my own accord, acted on my wishes, life would be far more dull. Many people get into the “I can’t because…” trap; all we need to do is to think “Would I want to re-watch this life being lived?” If the answer is no, it’s time to go out and do something about it. 

What is about your name that is representative of men’s fashion? Plainly put, why a fox?

Well, the House of Fox goes back many generations, and the story is bit of a tale, but we’ve felt the Fox is a keen allegory for the modern man. He is known for his adaptability, for his cleverness, for that rather dapper reddish coat and white breast, with blackened nose and ears (second only to the Penguin within the animal kingdom, I might add), he has a suave and debonair look about him. Men really connect to this and women are always attracted to a man that is put together, but a tad disheveled, too; if he was completely safe, it would be boring!

Name one of your fashion icons.

The style eras I consider iconic are the ’50s Italian Riviera, and the early, roarin’ ’20s in the U.S. Both of these periods were filled with wonder and excitement over future possibilities and an exuberance that I think we have yet to match, and both occurred very shortly after World Wars. Oscar Wilde is another favorite (arguably the first “dandy”, and quite the dresser), so I’d say he’s an icon. 

Where do your cufflinks get their names?

The names for each piece for this collection come from mainly French characters that I’ve read or known about, from princes and kings to paupers and farmers. They each had at least one daring story or small local legend about them, and that really attracts me, as those kinds of folk tales usually go missing from our collective histories, but they often, in my opinion, provide the most color to humanity. 

Kevin Miller

For the past oh, eight seasons or so, chunky, clunky, vertiginous, (as in painful,) footwear has dominated designer runways. Said wedges and platforms have often been dubbed “sculptural” and “architectural,” when in fact they’re essentially just “high”.  What separates the truly chic from the weak? Well, the easiest answer would be a bonafide architect-as-designer.  Consider Zaha Hadid for Melissa and Lacoste; Frank Gehry for J.M. Weston; or Rem D Koolhaas (perhaps you’ve heard of his uncle?), for United Nude.

Zaha Hadid for Melissa. Photo by David Grandorge. Courtesy of www.zahahadid.com

So what’s the connection, here? How come these oh-so-serious master builders are all of a sudden interested in fashion? Well, designing a shoe and designing a building is actually not that different. Of course the scale and technicality is much greater in a building, but many of the same principal tenets come into play: equilibrium, surface volume, materials, and of course, aesthetics. And since the past decade has ushered in a much more form-driven and experimental attitude to footwear, it’s all of a sudden a rich medium for forward-thinking architects.

United Nudes’ Eamz shoe

And this is where United Nude comes into play. Design history, more so than any trend or designer whimsy, drives the construction of the brand’s shoes. Take the Möbius: A sleek, open-toe slip-on style, it’s created like the titular band, with one strip forming the upper, heel, foot bed, and sole. Or the Eamz: A classically curvaceous shoe whose heel closely approximates a leg of the iconic chair made famous by Charles and Ray Eames.

The Eamz shoe by United Nude

If fashion isn’t always accorded the respect it deserves, it might be because it’s often spawned from less-than-original ideas. Legitimately inspired brands like United Nude are helping to counter this trend, melding the worlds of fashion and architecture, one historically influenced, sculptural heel at a time. The sky’s the limit.

Sarah Fones