The 2014/15 trends are structured into two major categories – “Progress!” and “Revive!” Each of which is subdivided into two themes: “Generate Collision!” and “Engineer Nature!”, and “Exalt Purity!” and “Rejuvenate Craft!”, respectively – dealing in detail with the exploration of progress and renewal of textiles in interior design. Trend Courtesy: Heimtextil-Frankfurt (For a complete trend report, please contact Messe Frankfurt-Heimtextil).
PROGRESS!
Look forward | A brave new world in which science and technology are the driving forces behind innovation across the design industry.
Generate Collision: Harness technology to generate uniqueness
Emerging materials and technologies allow replicable unique and personalised results. To accommodate the demand for unique, individualised products, designers increasingly experiment with novel materials and technologies. Computer algorithms and similar technologies facilitate the mass production of customised items because, for example, panels of fabric can be printed digitally without the design having to be repeated. Similarly, playful printing and marking techniques enable uncontrolled artistic expression. Colours are swiped over or drawn, dabbed or splattered on surfaces. Designers experiment with ways to allow production processes to determine the look and texture of the final product.
Engineer Nature: Synthesise the natural world for a sustainable future
The convergence of science and the natural world uncovers progressive synthetic solutions for a more sustainable future. New textile techniques intertwine living systems with and biological and texture technologies copied from nature to form novel fabrics. Designers technicise nature by growing their own materials and copying nature’s processes. This innovative approximation of biology to materiality goes hand in hand with new responsibilities; designers also are beginning to rethink the consequences of modifying their former lifestyles. Where the design sector turns biology into a new medium for creativity, scientists leverage the complexity of living systems using technical processes. We are experiencing a design trend that explores the concept of creating natural works using artificial means and which allows itself to be inspired by the interaction of science and design.
REVIVE!
Look back | In the pursuit of more meaningful and authentic experiences we appreciate the importance of learning from the past, rediscovering and reviving the value in tradition.
Exalt Purity: Strip back to reveal purity and integrity
In search of a sense of spirituality natural materials are celebrated in their purist form. As a response to mass production, the interest in objects that have personalities and are accompanied by stories is increasing. In the quest for meaning, this movement honours natural materials by embracing their imperfections and highlighting their origins deliberately. The results are primitive yet modern aesthetics. Wild and coarse nature with its unadulterated colours, textures and shapes acts as the generator of ideas. In this way, designers focus on the humble, the pure, the unadorned.Pristine, untreated materials are used, and resource-saving production processes and the longevity of products define the main criteria. Animism, essentialism, minimalism and reductionism prove to be the decisive trends.
Rejuvenate Craft: Revisit tradition to enhance authenticity
Reviving and renewing traditional craft techniques to enhance narrative and meaning to objects. Designers work with recycled materials, conjuring up the concept of an improvised lifestyle as a counterpoint to our technology-dominated society. Uniformity is replaced by the collage look to stage the unexpected and evoke alluring visual tension. Using the language of traditional craft techniques such as embroidery, weaving or knitting, designers tell stories about their lives. The revival of craftsmanship gives rise to a wealth of textures.
