Tastemakers: Curators or Copycats? The Cole & Son Salon Debates

Are tastemakers still curators? Do they edit what is beautiful and valuable, or are we now in an era of copycats and virality? And in an age where you can become a TikTok sensation overnight, have we lost the defining features of a true tastemaker? These were the questions up for debate at Cole & Son’s fourth Jubilee Place Salon event, where leading voices from the worlds of art, journalism and auctioneering sat down to discuss the tangibility of taste, what it means to have ‘good taste’, and the inescapable influence of the internet on shaping ideas.

Taking the floor were The Earl of Rosebery (Harry Dalmeny), Honorary Chairman of Sotheby’s UK, Carole Annett, Interiors Director, Country and Town House and Marie Karlsson, Creative and Managing Director of Cole & Son. Steering the conversation with his inimitable light touch was Ed Vaizey, himself a Trustee at Tate.

What makes a tastemaker?

What is a tastemaker? Marie Karlsson laughs: “I consider myself a tastemaker!” she exclaims, going on to define tastemakers as trendsetters. Town and Country's Carole Annett agrees, but added the subtle nuance that tastemakers are aspirational figures people look to for style and knowledge. In the eyes of Harry Dalmeny, a tastemaker is simply a “guru”.

The panel wasted no time in pulling apart the term itself: “In the olden days a tastemaker was somebody who innovated”, Dalmeny continued. "Now, I think it is somebody who elaborates”. Almost by definition, a tastemaker is indefinable, since taste is subjective. However, taste itself is often used as a tool for self-identification. Steering the discussion, Vaizey pointed out that taste can be influenced by where (and how) a person perceives themselves in the world. “In the sixties it was all about modernity”, he said, “about embracing change”. Are we in a similar position today? While mini-skirts may no longer be seen as an expression of radical taste, Karlsson agreed that thanks to social media taste is now everywhere, making it easier for people to strike out and define their own style: “It’s about identifying yourself”.

Ed Vaizey summed up: “Taste is more eclectic, more tolerant… people are more confident in being magpies, mixing and matching”. That said, there are some timeless tastemakers who, regardless of trends and social media overnight sensations, remain icons by their very name. The panel cited two main examples: Kate Moss (she’s always “The Name”, Dalmeny emphasised), and Jane Birkin. In a fascinating twist, the conversation turned to the aspirational sensation of the Birkin bag, the original of which recently sold for a record £7.4m at auction with Sotheby’s Paris. The buyer, owner of a fashion resell company from Japan, acquired the handbag to act as an icon for his brand. “Only time will tell if it was a vanity purchase or an incredibly smart investment”, Dalmeny continued, “but he certainly owns that ultimate icon of the indefinability of amazing taste”.

On a more applicable note, good taste can be distilled into recognisability. If someone walks into a room and immediately recognises a person's ‘touch’ in the interiors space, and if in doing so they get a better feel for who this person is as an individual, then their taste is both epitomised and defined.

Is there such a thing as 'English taste'?

Is English taste definable in the same way as, for example, Italian style? Not necessarily, the panel agreed, but there is an English country house aesthetic which transcends the classical and the attainable. Annett offered Chatsworth House as an example of an entire property done up in extreme good taste: “It’s the extraordinary and the exquisite and the craftsmanship that elevate the ordinary” she finished. According to Karlsson, English taste is so specific that it can be papered and painted onto our walls — in fact, the Cole & Son English House red is among their best-sellers (and one of the most difficult to create). The deep, rich tones are used to offset paintings and tapestries, showing off their natural fibres while providing an understated but distinct background. Dalmeny offered another explanation for the popularity of 'English House red': “The key about English style is that it is designed to be lived in after dark. This is the decoration for lighting for warm fires, and that sense that a home is going to embrace you”. As such, taste creates ambience.

Curators vs Copycats?

In an age of faster imitation, are today’s tastemakers curating what they believe is truly covetable, or are they copying what other people make ‘viral’?

This, according to Karlsson, is the million dollar question. How do we sift the wheat from the chaff in the saturated environment of social media? “It's a lot about believing in what you do and staying true to that”, she paused, then added with a smile: “And when you see people copy you, it’s actually quite flattering”.

There is a tangible buzz about Karlsson when she talks about Cole & Son’s role as a tastemaker: “We decide what people are going to have in their home tomorrow. And that’s very exciting”. Crucial to tastemaking is the ability to make the past present, and, sometimes, to make the present appear like the past. Annett noted the recent surge of popularity in ‘pre-loved’ items, commenting on how their affordability and sustainability has made them grow from a trend to an industry. Making pieces relevant for tomorrow is essential, Karlsson agreed: “Even if we work with a historical piece that we have dated back to the 1800s, I say [to the team] let’s make it interesting, let’s make the people of today bring it into their home. And at that moment we feel, and we believe… that we have created a trend”.

Tastes are everchanging, but some remain timeless

Time, environment, culture and society all impact changing taste. Whether your taste is shaped by prejudice, pride or even a lack of knowledge, what one single person deems tasteless can change the course of history. Dalmeny eloquently recounted the story of Sir Frederic Leighton’s 1895 work ‘Flaming June’. The painting - discovered by a builder behind a bricked-up fireplace - was initially sold for 60 pounds on account of it having a nice frame; now, it's recognised as one of Leighton's most celebrated masterpieces and hangs in the Royal Academy. It is currently priced at £135,000 by Sotheby’s UK.

The credibility of taste is undergoing a change too. Dalmeny drew a pointed comparison between the former world of possession and the currency of information, attributing some blame to technology for the younger generation’s lack of interest in the physical. Our vocabulary has also changed, as Annett noted. Whereas once to suggest something was 'faux', 'fake' or 'inspired by' would immediately decrease its value, such words are now used by designers as get-out-of-jail free cards. “Plagiarism in interior design is very different from plagiarism in scientific papers or novels”, Annett observed. In 2025, having something ‘inspired by’ a high-end fashion brand is simply a method of bringing luxury into the affordable, crossing the boundary between the high-end client and the high-street consumer. “We're talking about affordability”, Annett stated, “I think the problem sometimes when you go to the cheaper end of the chain is that it lacks credentials… the question is if it’s going to last at the end of the day?”.

In occasional bad taste...

Finally, talk turned to guilty pleasures. Surely, Vaizey prompted, even amongst our panel of foremost aspirational and influential tastemakers, preferences may slip into occasional bad taste? Harry Dalmeny confessed to being a secret reader and watcher of science fiction; Marie Karlsson admitted a love for Madonna, rock n' roll, and opulence, which was tasteful when individually indulged but which, combined, made an extremely distasteful cocktail. Carole Annett thought that having two kitchens was in extremely bad taste. Much to the general amusement of the room, Ed Vaizey admitted that he is the proud owner of a Gwyneth Paltrow candle, and also admitted his favourite film is The Bodyguard.

Vaizey opened the discussion to the floor. As might be expected in a salon filled with inquisitive and knowledgeable guests, CEOs of luxury brands, designers and artists, the post-panel Q&A was animated. Citing celebrities from Meghan Markle to Anna Wintour, guests questioned whether individuals have the ability to kill good taste simply by adopting it, and whether tastemaking is an innate gift, or one that can be acquired. “You can’t just say something will be good and it will be good”, said Dalmeny. Vaizey chased this train of thought: “Similarly, then, you can’t just say something will be bad and it will be bad”. Being a tastemaker is by its nature not innate, since tastes are shaped by our developing culture and surroundings. However, all tastemakers share one key attribute: effortlessness. This was agreed across the board.

With their minds awash with tastemaking and copycats, and as Champagne Bollinger flowed as easily as the panel talk had, guests continued the debate over delicious canapés. While some were self-effacing when it came to their personal style, one thing was certain: tastemaking is timeless, a gift without age or effort. For all the copycats in the world, the quiet skill of the curator will always sound the loudest.

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