Moodboards Are Back! + Worlds I Want To Live In
Brands, designers and artists that are on my radar and serve as escapism to this freezing cold.
In recent months, I've seen many designers, and non-designers alike, post their moodboards on social media. Maybe it's the time I spend on Substack, where the app is flooded with inspirational images every day, setting the tone for the day or the season, and the good response to my moodboard-ish ‘Color Combinations Worth Trying, In Fashion and Interiors’ post (thank you for your support!). In any case, I keep seeing moodboards everywhere. I would like to know if you do too.
For this reason, I asked a couple of Substack friends who use moodboards frequently, about what drives them to create them, and their biggest learnings from this stimulating process. I must say that it’s something I personally enjoy very much doing, so I was grateful that the lovely Drew Townsel of Intersect Magazine invited me to her vision board party last month to start the year off right.
I leave you with their insights below, before delving into the brands, designers and artists that have inspired me lately. Creative universes that make me travel to different places, moments in history, personal memories and evocative fantasies. I hope you like the compilation!
For Noora Raj Brown from
, it's an iterative, constant process. “I rarely make a mood board from scratch. Instead, I'm always taking photos of things that inspire and saving images - screenshots from my phone, instagram, on Cosmos and Pinterest. If you feel unsure of where to start, start there - just look for things that you love without worrying about how it'll come together. Once you have enough on a page, it'll be clear. And ruthlessly edit. That's the most imporant part.”
For Julia Imperatori from
, moodboards serve as a way to organize inspiration from different sources and provide “a literal way to showcase what's on your mind, transforming abstract thoughts into a clear visual language. Whether for a personal project or work, especially in creative or communication-driven fields, moodboards help connect the dots between seemingly unrelated influences and bring ideas to life. To me, a moodboard is like a visual diary of what’s inspiring me at a given moment. Plus, the process itself is just fun—it feels like storytelling without necessarily using words!”“While I create most of my moodboards digitally, nothing beats the experience of crafting them in real life. There’s something special about curating images, cutting them out, layering textures, and arranging stickers or other elements by hand. It creates a personal, hands-on connection to the creative process that digital tools can’t fully replicate, and it also feels therapeutic! I’ve found that working with physical materials can spark unexpected ideas and make the process feel more immersive and intuitive. And if you invite friends to join in, it becomes an even more fun and inspiring activity to do together!”
Of course not everyone is going to be a fan. Although I’m sure Laila Gohar’s magnificient work can be found in many moodboards, don’t ask her for one. “You know what I hate more than anything? Moodboards. I think moodboards are killers of dreams and ideas. Instead of starting with an idea, you’re starting with 30 other people’s ideas! Sometimes clients ask for them, and my lovely agent has to talk them into the fact that I don’t do it.” (Hey Nick!)
Worlds I Want To Live In
Clergé. Fine jewelry in 18K gold handmade in Paris. Each piece is first hand-sculpted in wax based on the drawings of the designer Audrey Clerget, and then cast in 18-carat gold using the ancestral technique of lost-wax casting. It can take you to Paris, or to Greece... Especially their Skorpios ring with deep blue sapphire, inspired by the legendary island of Aristotle Onassis.
Le Kilt. Named after a Soho nightclub in the 1980s, Le Kilt reimagines traditional classic pieces inspired by the founder’s Scottish heritage (her grandmother was a kilt maker). Samantha McCoach established the brand in 2014, and relaunched it in 2023 after a 4-year hiatus.
Danielle Kosann. Working with oil and acrylic on a large scale, the artist Danielle Kosann invites us into imaginary worlds with female-centric narratives and a sense of humor, using references from theater, film, books, architecture and art history. Her work is on permanent view at The Carlyle Hotel in New York City.
Crudo Caan. Its founder, Maria, draws inspiration from Mayan and pre-Columbian history to create her jewelry, using local beads and stones valued for their symbolism in Mexican culture for thousands of years. Crudo means “raw, unrefined” in Spanish, while Caan is a stylized translation of kaan, the Mayan word for sky.
More jewelry brands featured here.
Babaà. Marta Bahillo started her firm Babaà back in 2012 and since then continues to work with the same Spanish factory and artisans to create knitted pieces to wear forever. All the wool comes from Castilla y León and Extremadura. The cotton comes from Andalusia. The fine merino or cashmere is bought in Italy. They have a factory in Barcelona and a paint shop in A Coruña.
Marisa Zappas. Known for her ethereal and nostalgic fragrances, Marisa Zappas’ approach to perfumery finds fuel in her background in anthropology, her admiration for avant-garde perfumes of the early twentieth century, and her collaborations with New York City artists.
Cawley. Born out of Hannah Cawley’s bedroom in 2017, Cawley holds the legacy of a family who create with their hands. Hannah and her mum Wendy learnt to hand-smock together, using craft as a way to bring time-honoured practices of making into the present. Every piece of clothing is hand-cut and made in their light-filled studio in South London.
BMDO. Half from Los Angeles and half from Melbourne, the BMDO design studio proposes furniture and objects that blend traditional and futuristic processes, materials, and aesthetics. In this collection, their debut, fabrics predominate, and several of the pieces are crafted from scrap-yard finds and transformed in an Arte Povera style.
More discoveries on design here.
Colleen Allen. The former menswear designer and The Row alum founded her label last year and is already garnering a lot of attention in New York City and beyond. Through her designs, Brooklyn-based Colleen Allen explores ideas of identity, spirituality and community. This explains why her most recent collection revolves around the archetype of the witch.
Beautiful article and curation of moodboards! I love a mood board and love how everyone has a different style of crafting them. Mine keeps changing depending on where I am in the world and I love seeing all this new inspo!
Wow, such a treat for the eye! All those moodboards!!! You just made me want to start creating one. But I have a very low key and yet a very crucially important question - HOW do YOU CREATE your moodboards? I do pin outfits I want to come back to on Pinterest but that's just outfits and not really a mood.