Grand Masters and whizz kids

The Design Museum is gearing up for 100 Masterpieces, an exhibition of twentieth century furniture from the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.

It will include the famous zig-zag chair by Gerrit T Rietveld, the Louis 20 chair by Philippe Starck and the Well Tempered Chair by Ron Arad, and will be designed by Richard Greenwood with graphics by Sally McIntosh. 100 Masterpieces will run from 24 April to 6 October.

Meanwhile, top fashion guru Paul Smith has announced the winners of his True Brit Business in Fashion Award, following his Design Museum exhibition which closes this week.

Two bright young things win 5000, but Smith laments the fact that most submissions did not meet the requirements of a strong business plan.

“Students need to underpin their creativity with sound business skills,” he says sadly, with reference to the current dreary economic climate.

But since when did fashion students bother their pretty heads with such tedious tasks? It’s rather reassuring to think the wild ideals of the Seventies fashion world still exist in these post-Thatcherite sensible days.