Heimtextil

The granddaddy of textile fairs- Heimtextil- kicks off a month of non-stop trade shows in Europe. Featuring a trend forum with concept by world renowned Gunnar Frank and 10 halls showing everything from bed, bath to carpets and wallcovering- it’s a smorgasbord of textiles for design professionals.

This year’s trend theme was Show your Colors where whimsy and baroque looks are exchanged for clarity and function translating into dynamic and intelligent fabrics. Color is used as the bridge between traditional and contemporary; East and West. Here color pays its respects to a variety of artistic directions seen its it four themes- Constructive Power, Cubism Monochrome, Surreal Sunny and Futurism Dawn. Frank says, "Stamp your personality and character on your products."












Key Trends
Ingenious weaves and structures
Shimmer and shine replacing the crystallized looks of 2006
Silver, brass and copper are important against discrete colors of gray, mauve, grey-green and chocolate
Black and white is almost peaking on the trend curve with the color scheme exploding . A new accent emerges with citron yellow replacing red/ hot pink.
New technologies create an emphasis on the aesthetic
Innovative color schemes
Innovative materials
Transparent weaves
Flocking
Florals

Playing with scale on both side of spectrum with mini prints and Lilliputian motifs to over- the- top blown -up pattern particularly on panels.

In the Bath Halls there was an emphasis on wellness with amazing color ranges in solids, and luxe looks in brands. There is a further move to lifestyle/hotel living with introductions of matching robes, slippers and loungewear by most bath manufacturers.

The wallpaper hall was exciting. Grass, bamboo and silk were important fibers. Organic looks moved toward luxury. Over scaled repeats, pearls, beading and embroidery were in the forefront.


























Forte Air Factory
Check out these laser cut panels seen in Heimtextil’s trend forum -part of the Onon Interactive Surface collection- from Forte Air Factory. When creating the machine-cut, polyester vellum panels, designer Nir Simhon drew inspiration from natural and meditative rhythms. All panels are custom made, up to half-an-inch thick and 9 ¾ feet high. The fronds have crystals at the end that make them move with the slightest external movement. These are meant to be used primarily as a divider or window/wall surface.