Selvedge Magazine- Issue 121- Adorable

This issue explores the phenomenon of "cuteness" from a textile perspective. Cute has a set of identifiable characteristics, one of which is scale. A fascination with small and childlike miniaturisation is seen at its zenith in Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, mini-me mother-and-daughter dressing, and the slippery softness of petroleum plushies. Jonathan Faiers chronicles the evolution of faux fur from its origins in Titus Salt’s experiments with brushed alpaca at the Saltaire Mill in Yorkshire to the Unreal Fur x Sans Beast collaboration, inspired by Where The Wild Things Are. Cute takes different forms in different regions and can be represented in the familiarity of folk culture, Latvian mittens, Scottish bonnets, and Mexican piñatas.

The zeitgeist of a troubling world has brought cute to the forefront, where it has infiltrated our society. There is no sign of it shifting as demure sweeps paranoid social media this summer. We retreat to a safe space where the emoji rules.