Retro style—more than just nostalgia

Retro style—more than just nostalgia

The real reasons behind the popularity of retro furniture, objects and interiors are the focus of a new book by Victoria University Lecturer Dr Sarah Baker.

In the first book to focus on retro for the domestic interior, Dr Baker argues that, rather than simply being a longing for the past, the popularity of retro style is intimately linked with the development of middle-class taste, as well as being a product of the greater time pressures placed upon individuals—particularly women.

Dr Baker, Acting Programme Director and Lecturer in Design’s Culture and Context, says: “Interest in retro is as much a reflection of contemporary social relations, as it is a desire to go back in time.”

Retro Style: Class, Gender and Design in the Home traces the emergence of the style for the home back to the 1960s and charts its widening appeal. It considers the differences between retro, vintage and antique, and documents various types of retro interior.

Dr Baker’s findings are the product of research with retro enthusiasts, retailers and the media in the United Kingdom. Chapters include discussion of the home as a site of psychological, social and economic investment; the retailing and marketing of authenticity; the bohemianisation of popular culture; domestic labour and DIY.

Retro Style: Class, Gender and Design in the Home is published by Bloomsbury Publishing.

Book launch details

Introduction by Margaret Petty, Head of the School of Design

Followed by Q&A with Dr Sarah Baker

When: Thursday 4 July, 5pm

Where: LT2, Victoria University Te Aro Campus, 139 Vivian Street, Wellington.

ends

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