While Hitchcock saw flying menace in his winged protagonists, contemporary style-makers have been taking a much more benign view of late, reinterpreting classic avian motifs to striking decorative effect. Icarus lamp shade by Tord Boontje, $79 (U.S.) through www.gnr8.biz.
It's often lost amid all the pecking and screaming, but The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 horror classic, is one fashionable film. From star Tippi Hedren's elegant wardrobe and sexy silver sports car to the (now) retro-cool interiors, the movie provides as many style thrills as those of the creepy variety. Fans can only hope that Naomi Watts and George Clooney look equally chic as they flee marauding seagulls in the remake that is reportedly in the works. No word on whether Cameron Crowe will be directing.
While Hitchcock saw flying menace in his winged protagonists, however, contemporary style-makers have been taking a much more benign view of late, reinterpreting classic avian motifs to striking decorative effect.
Dutch designer Tord Boontje's feathery Icarus lamp shade, for instance, may evoke Greek mythology, but is practically Audubonian in its detail. British-based Ed Carpenter's charming Pigeon lamps, meanwhile, come in a variety of vibrant hues and have a pop-art sensibility.
Most recently, Spanish iconoclast Jaime Hayon infused yet more life into the venerable porcelain manufacturer Lladro with his Parrots Party series of lamps, tabletop items, mirrors and coat racks featuring glazed ceramic birds. Toronto retailer Jason MacIsaac, who first saw the line in Europe, was instantly smitten with it.
"The birds are very real-looking, according to Lladro tradition," he says. "But there is also something humorous if not ironic about these beautiful birds let loose in people's homes. It's like nature gone wild, but in a good way. It's a very distinctive look."
MacIsaac's boutique, Ministry of the Interior, is the only retailer that sells the series in Canada. Among the pieces available at the west-end Toronto shop are a sky-blue vase with three-dimensional white parrots perched on truncated branches ($1,710) and a soft red candlestick holder featuring a single white specimen ($740).
After several seasons of butterfly and bee motifs, the avian trend, which was very visible at the influential Maison& Objet trade fair in Paris this winter, has also trickled down into mass-market wares. Examples this season include bird-inspired bedding at Pottery Barn and plumage-rich pillows and dishware at HomeSense.
"As an interior-design trend, they're all about bringing the outside in," HomeSense spokeswoman Colleen Uncao says of bird motifs. "Decor enthusiasts are attracted to their whimsical charm and their natural beauty and the fact that they represent freedom and the great outdoors."
If and when the Birds remake comes out, that, of course, may all change, as the no-doubt-gorier modern version will probably do for the feathered community what Jaws did for sharks. For now, though, birds are very much at the top of the decorative pecking order. Time will tell if the trend has wings or is merely a flight of fancy.