Ayano Kobayashi

Dissertation: Dutch Design Boom in 1990s: Looking Through the Furniture

There were considerable developments in many fields of design in the Netherlands in the 1990s. The country became one of the leading nations in the field of architecture and graphic design as well as in the design of products and fashion. In addition, the Dutch state also became aware of the need to promote national culture abroad. It created a new institute to promote design and new thinking in this area.

The 1990s also saw the emergence of the Droog design group whose products and schemes marked the beginning of new attitudes. Droog’s conceptual humour and use of unexpected materials were identified by many commentators as ‘typically Dutch’. But is there such a thing as ‘Dutchness’, and can it be communicated through design?

Many of the most celebrated examples of Dutch design in the 1990s were sold not only in Holland but also abroad. Were they understood differently in these international contexts? Or were these works ‘lost in translation’? My dissertation sets out to explore these questions.