The Heimtextil Trends 2013/2014 report brings an in-depth view on influential developments in the area of home textiles. Reflecting the spirit of the times, these future trend forecasts relate to the complex lifestyles of contemporary consumers. Heimtextil has presented the trend themes using four representative personalities, each with his or her own hopes, desires, aspirations and ideas: The historian, the eccentric, the inventor and the geologist.
The historian is described as a treasurer of the past, seeking value and discovering ways to make history relevant to contemporary life. This character is partial to noble products of supreme craft and artisanship with aristocratic élan. These are lovers of luxury who appreciate the value of well-rooted quality and the concept of pedigree. Born into a technology-dominated culture, they are devoted to finding ways to fit history into their contemporary lifestyles. With a disdain for disposable gadgets, they chase concepts of beauty with intrinsic value, historical magic, storytelling and craftsmanship.
The treasure box of Western civilisation in the late 16th and 17th centuries has been thrown open. This period continues to inspire due to the extreme richness of its historical arts and crafts. All treasures are crafted with supreme artisanship, the ornaments are expressive, the embellishment is opulent and the details refined. The historian palette is muted by the absence of bright light. Daylight shimmers through to reveal pearlescent pales, candlelit metallic sheen and dim and mysterious dark shades.
The eccentric is a hunter and collector, chasing the exquisite and the unique, cherishing and mixing discoveries with daring eclecticism. Assembles flamboyant concepts that have a timeless quality and an extremely decorative character. Daring flamboyance is mixed with a passion for decorative arts and crafts, creating a contemporary curiosity cabinet filled with the unique and the one-off. Products of true origin show folkloric aspects, exotic references and tribal influences, all matched freely with the traditional and authentic to create a generous and eclectic mix.
These people are hunters and gatherers: free-spirited individuals who lead an abundant and Burgundian lifestyle and share a common preference for the decorative and outspoken. Contemporary dandies and modern bohemians are touring the globe for joyful experiences and meaningful products. They scavenge the globe for the iconic and the extraordinary and are aware of the cultural context and origin of the trophies of their tours. A range of colour stages the abundant as well as the understated to enable the flamboyant colour clashes where extravagance meets elegance and exoticism.
The inventor is an intelligent free thinker, experimenting and researching solutions to make life fulfilling, fun and exciting. Fond of concepts in which function meets fun, wellness and entertainment. Eager to leave a personal trace on designs. These people love experiments, seek adventure and yearn for undiscovered worlds of wonder. They are opportunistic characters who like to try things out and make their mark on the design and production processes. Connected to friends and the world, they are ready to share both the inner and outer.
We’d all love to invent our own personal living environment that eases our life and accommodates our most intimate desires. To discover challenging ideas that explore the fringes of the possible, with the satisfaction being more in the process than the result. To create concepts where function meets up with fun and wellness with entertainment. To conjure up the sensorial, the kinetic and interactive and link these to our favourite media, allowing us to play our way through the day. The intrigue is drawn by the strange contrasts, combining the clinical with the organic, the hot with the frozen and sparking understated functionality with a healthy dose of fun. A playful range of vivid shades.
The geologist is a nature lover, preserving as well as exploring the deepest layers of the earth and digging down for the unseen and the unexpected. Values the precious imperfections of geological textures, the science of nature and its surreal quality. These are lovers of the good life, considerate yet demanding citizens who are aware of the quality of a product as well as its origins. They love nature and natural products, yet at the same time, they are still intrigued by the fact that man, the city and the economy are an integral part of our current ecosystem. We live in the next stage of nature.
Celebrate nature and strive to reconnect with it by exploring the unknown and the unexpected. Embrace its ravishing powers, which are both destructive and beautifying at the same time. Value the precious imperfections of geological textures, the constant evolution of organic growth, the continuous change triggered by erosion, oxidation, natural distress and nature’s own self-destructive forces. Listen to the Earth, experience it to the fullest. It is the science of nature and its surreal aspects that inspire. Some of these traces of nature’s energy can fiercely liven up our home environments. This range reflects the mysterious, dark side of nature. Intense hues are sparked with poisonous brightness and metallic sheen to light up our urban caves. Irregular surface effects breathe life into dense and understated natural shades.
