Wild Things Flavor Paper
It’s not just summer on our mind that finds us drawn to all things tropical. Palm leaves, vibrant plant forms, exotic blooms, especially on dark backgrounds are peaking. We first spotted this design trend that we named Tropicalia- over a year ago. We attributed it in part to the 2016 Rio Olympics and the growing interest in South America; part as the next iteration of popular floral motifs.
Briocher
Maison & Objet 2017
Manuel Canovas
But driving this trend is waning minimalism as we say hello to Maximalism—meaning a saturated color, lavish materials, vibrant pattern, adventurous forms, and an eclectic mix of design influences (more on maximalism in future posts.)
Continuing on the tropicalia theme, we see more abstraction, moving to the fantastical and exotic animals appearing in what started out as only botanical motifs as it moves through the trend cycle.
Hair on Hide Rug Kyle Bunting
Canopy Bed Milan Design Week
Zuber
Couple this with the popularity of capsule collections and collaborations in both fashion and interiors and you have this season’s Tenue de Plage by J. Crew with Pierre Frey.
This is the second time that the American brand J. Crew has borrowed from the fabric editor, Pierre Frey. This time it is an Orientalist drawing and flagship print, Alexandria. J Crew has reproduced this project gouache from the end of the 19th century that has been in collection since 1990. Although old, this design with its soft colors( Millennial pink again) and striking tropical motif makes it feel modern. Proof that sooner or later, everything old is new again.
