Chella de Bay

History of Design (MA)

About

Chella de Bay is a design historian and interior designer who enjoys combining antique and modern pieces to create layered schemes suffused with character.

Chella’s research explores the narratives and aesthetics of cultural exchanges, focusing on fin-de-siècle and Art Nouveau design in Europe. Chella’s in-depth research on the Thebes stool from the V&A’s collection, uncovered exciting links between Liberty’s Egyptian revival furniture and Viennese Secession designers.

Her final dissertation, investigates the design culture of the Orient Express Train, a major technological innovation and a cultural emblem of modernity. The study provided insights into how the Orient Express carried the cosmopolitan lifestyle across Europe at the turn of the nineteenth century, influencing design aesthetics and contributing to the cultural exchange of ideas and styles across different regions. This exploration of the train’s spatial, material, and visual conception reveals the broader implications of mobility and luxury in shaping a pan-European design culture, which often overwrote and simplified cultural differences along the train’s trajectory.

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