Coolness comes in from the cool

CoolBrands pinpoint brands doing engaging and cool stuff, regardless of their size or marketing purse - with cool being a bit of a leveller. The result is an eclectic mix of everyday and luxury brands from the big hitters that still retain clarity of vision to smaller or niche brands that are shaking things up things. From Apple to Aveda to Salty Dog and to my boys delight, Rapha. Goodness he is a cool rider.

This year big new arrivals in the top twenty included Instagram, which jumped into tenth place and proved that photos have replaced 140 characters when it comes to cool, with Twitter falling out of the top twenty!

I wondered where interiors figure in the list so I asked Stephen Cheliotis, Chief Executive, The Centre for Brand Analysis and Chairman, UK Superbrands & CoolBrands Councils;

‘They aren’t one of the better performing sectors. The majority of the brands in this space tend to be niche and don't have the same recognition among the influencers and members of the public as the big tech, fashion and beauty brands among others. There are a few real strong performers but their rank tends to be fairly volatile compared to certain other brands in other categories where consistency is more evident.’

Shame really as both classic and contemporary interiors can be judged cool. Who were the new judges this year I asked? As well as the great British audience, new council members included musicians Ella Eyre and Labrinth, blogger Emily Johnson, digital entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, model Jodie Kidd and actor Jonathan Bailey.  Perhaps we could add a Tom Dixon or an Alice Rawlinson.

I am very pleased that Alternative Flooring is a CoolBrand for the second year running and it is still the only exclusively flooring brand to make the cut. This brand looks at flooring differently and brings real passion, personality and character to this market, making carpet cool. Other interior CoolBrands include Heal’s, Little Greene, The French House, Ligne Roset, Poggenpohl, C P Hart, and I am happy to say the New Craftsmen.

Margo Selby for Alternative Flooring

Yes cool is subjective, but many interior companies would tick the six factors that determine coolness - style, innovation, originality, authenticity, desirability and uniqueness.  I want interiors to come in from the cold and I for one, will be nominating a few more cool design brands in forthcoming years.

coolbrands.uk.com

alternativeflooring.com

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