Heimtextil has been always been a key barometer for trends, pinning down the key dynamics and providing designers a valuable yardstick to measure where they are at and where they will be going.
This year is no exception. The Trend Table’s 2014 forecast, titled Progress! Revive! speaks to a split design landscape. Caroline Till of FranklinTill, Great Britain explains, ”The design landscape of the future will be divided into two opposing, innovative powers – one is the desire to look forward and propagate tech-savvy advancements as our opportunity to survive in these times of fast living; the other is the relevance of the look backward and the renewal of past traditions in our quest for authenticity. ” The two major categories are each subdivided into two themes: Progress! – “Generate Collision!” and “Engineer Nature!”, and Revive! – “Exalt Purity!” and “Rejuvenate Craft! Here‘s a look into the future with heimtextil trends.
PROGRESS!
Look forward | A brave new world in which science and technology are the driving forces behind innovation across the design industry.
Progress! – Generate Collision!
To accommodate the demand for unique, individualized products, designers are increasingly experimenting with novel materials and technologies.
Computer algorithms and digital technologies facilitate the mass production of customized items. Designers experiment with ways to allow production processes to determine the look and texture of the final product.
Panels of fabric are printed without the design repeats. Playful printing and marking techniques enable uncontrolled artistic expression. Colors are swiped over or drawn, dabbed or splattered on surfaces.
Progress! – Engineer Nature!
New textile techniques intertwine living systems with and biological and texture technologies copied from nature to form novel fabrics.
Designers techni-cise nature by growing their own materials and copying nature’s processes. This innovative approximation of biology goes hand- in- hand with new responsibilities- rethinking 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 us 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.
Revive! – Exalt Purity!
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 honors 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 colors, textures and shapes acts as the generator of ideas. Designers are focusing on the humble, the pure, the unadorned.
Pristine, untreated materials, resource-saving production processes and the longevity of products define thethis theme. Animism, essentialism, minimalism and reductionism prove to be the decisive trends.
Revive! – Rejuvenate Craft!
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.
Head on over to Design Confidential TV to see more about the trends
