Trend space. © Messe Frankfurt GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Structure, graphic patterns and health-promoting materials were the key trend signals from Heimtextil 2019 in Frankfurt, last month. The international leading trade fair for home and contract textiles offered an attractive backdrop for the innovations of 3,025 exhibitors from 65 countries.

“Graphic patterns are the must-have of the season for all segments, from carpets, wall and window decoration to furniture and decorative fabrics and on the table, in the bathroom and in the bedroom. These include variations on geometries, checks, diamonds and diagonal stripes, as well as inspirations from the 50s, 60s and 70s, elegant style elements from Art Deco and designs à la M.C. Escher,” organisers report.

“The latter in particular, with their strong three-dimensional optics, form a link to the second top trend: very haptic structures provide exciting inspiration for the eye and hand across all types of textiles. The consistently grippy fabrics convey aspects such as craftsmanship, quality and authenticity. These include cotton and linen looks with typical slub elements, elaborate traditional weaves, interesting cut-outs and material mixes, elements borrowed from outdoor and functional clothing as well as the ubiquitous patina effects.”

These structured surfaces appear particularly elegant in the combination of dark grey and silver tones with natural, often light non-colours. The compositions are complemented mainly by powdery pastels from rose and lilac to mint and blue. The deliberate blending with light shades of grey gives the colour fan a casual and adult touch. Parallel to this, the denim trend continues to develop, flanked by a robust style in mud and khaki shades mixed with bright orange. All in all, the colour worlds appear very coordinated and harmonious. Strong accents of gold and mustard yellow or ultraviolet are to be found above all in the opulent, more luxurious collections.

Decorative and furniture fabrics

In the new Heimtextil trade fair concept, were convincing as a compact meeting place for furniture and decorative fabrics, upholstery and imitation leather, carpets and contract business. Innovators such as Trevira CS and Antex focused on new processes and used marine waste such as fishing nets and PET bottles as raw materials for their recyclable yarns. The vegan trend is embraced among other things by Art & Interior with a high-quality silk fabric, which is obtained from the core of cotton. The company Froca, on the other hand, presented its nanotechnology-based innovation, a Teflon-free upholstery fabric line that can be cleaned with pure water.

Trend space. © Messe Frankfurt GmbH / Pietro Sutera

A rethink of carpets is also taking place: suppliers such as Toucan-T presented PVC, latex and bitumen-free solutions that save around 12,600 tonnes of waste and 70,000 barrels of crude oil per 10,000 tonnes of raw material. The growing trend towards carpet tiles also offers more than just design advantages over rolled goods. This is because the smaller packaging units reduce CO2 values simply by improving transport options.

Digital print technology: clean inks

Interest in sustainable solutions is also growing in digital printing, which has been given a new position at Heimtextil in hall 3.0. International market leaders such as HP are increasingly developing sustainable alternatives, including latex technologies that can be combined with recyclable materials, as well as a range of water-based inks and odourless prints that are also suitable for hospitals and schools. In terms of design, exhibitors like Mimaki demonstrated their skills in adapting one and the same work of art (Tessa Koops) on canvas, wallpaper and textile.

Window and interior decoration

Exhibitors such as Apelt, Eustergerling, Heco, IFI Design, Saum & Viebahn and Style Library fully exploited the creative strength of decorative textiles at the new Interior Decoration hotspot in hall 8.0. As part of impressive presentations, they immersed visitors in different style worlds. In line with the major trends, graphic designs dominated the picture here as well. These range from simple geometric patterns such as diamonds, checks and stripes to complex, multi-coloured optical illusions.

Trend space. © Messe Frankfurt GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Intelligent darkening systems, such as those from Buchheister, not only provide privacy but also become an attractive design element. Contemporary accents are provided e.g. by Kadeco. In the tradition of the Wabisabi, which particularly appreciates old elements, pleated blinds feature burnout, patina effects and the original fake leno weaving technique.

Sleeping as though in space

Particular attention was paid by Heimtextil 2019 to sleep as a new lifestyle theme. The various solutions for improving nightly regeneration ranged from hotel beds that can be individually adjusted to suit the guest (GX by Rummel) and smart sleep sensor mats from Withings Sleep to technical materials from space travel at Outlast Technologies.

These regulate the temperature during sleep by changing their physical state. Sustainability is also moving further into focus, for example with Ecobel/Belnou, Traumina and OBB in the form of increasingly mature recycling and cradle to cradle approaches or the conscious focus on organic qualities, origin and tradition.

www.heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com