Contract colour

The mood amongst exhibitors was buoyant, reflected in the striking display of product innovation and styles on offer. A common feature of many of the fabrics on display at the show was the sheer amount of colour on offer. Detlef Braun from Messe Frankfurt commented to CID: “Colourful fabrics reflect an optimism. People want to see colour. People invest more in colour.” As for the quality of products on offer, he added: “The German consumer is traditionally very price orientated, but times are now changing.

Cheap times are not yet over but there is increasing emphasis on quality products, and more brand focus.”

Contract creations

For commercial interior designers Heimtextil was particularly relevant this year. For the first time the contract business was given an independent profile in the show. 350 exhibitors of contract textiles, with a particular focus on the hospitality industry were presented in the ‘Contract Creations’ section. With the contract industry booming (the German Hotel Association indicated that 44% of the 1.6billion euros set aside for hotel investment will go into interior furnishing, fixtures, design and linen), there is no doubt that the future of the textile industry rests in this market, and the showcase demonstrated a vital step by Heimtextil towards keeping up with industry trends.

Braun told CID: “Our market research indicated that the contract industry is growing and growing. This is a 2billion euro business in Germany alone, and just look at how the hotel industry is booming in Dubai for example. This business needs to be represented. We have invited the key European hotel chains to Heimtextil this year to see the potential of our contract exhibitors. There is great potential here, this year we have focused on hospitality, but next year we can look at aviation, healthcare and so on.”

A number of exciting exhibitions highlighted the trends in contract furnishing such as ‘Cruises’, a setting reminiscent of a ship interior, which presented the latest in cruise ship furnishing. The ‘Hotel room of tomorrow’, a design study by Berlin-based architect firm Graft experimented with new perspectives to present an innovative vision of a hotel room of the future. The whole room is integrated into a huge piece of fabric, an endless piece of cloth covering all surfaces, which resembles a continuous belt revolving around the entire room. The sloping outer surface is used not only as a diving wall but also as furniture.

Textiles are used to make conventional elements, such as furniture and curtains but also cupboards, lighting and wash stands. “Textiles trigger within us a feeling of inspirational curiosity, and so we quickly arrived at the idea of using textiles in a very radical way. The hotel room we are presenting tries to move beyond customary boundaries, especially the ones separating furniture and architecture,” said Graft.

The futuristic approach to the design also goes for the fabrics used. The violet coloured, metallic-looking fabric from Kvadrat, which covers the outer walls, looks like an unusual choice, encouraging designers to break with old habits. The idea is for the hotel guest to feel protected and embedded within the room — like a piece of jewellery in a silk lined case.

In terms of trends in the contract sector, the focus is on soothing colours, restrained elegance and timelessness without too much overstated decoration. Muted tones from a silvery / grey palette; natural Nordic style colours in browns, beiges and whites; warm copper and red tones, and blues are very important. High quality and luxury fabrics dominate this sector. Anja Greger, product development Hometextile, Trevira GmbH commented: “In the past the contract sector has been rather classic in character. On average, hotels are renovated every three to five years, which makes it hard to follow short-lived fashion trends. In the contract sector it’s all about long-term trends rather than short-term fashions. Nevertheless quite a lot has changed in this respect. More individuality is called for. In an age when people are more mobile and global than ever it is important for hotels to rise above the rest and be different.”

Another highlight at Heimtextil was an exhibition by Material ConneXion. The materials library which is the world’s largest resource centre for innovative new materials with an archive of over 3,000 products, staged a special touch and feel area allowing visitors to come and experience some truly exciting new concepts and ideas for future orientated building design. Materials were in four categories: Emotion, Safety, Function and Sustainability. Air-purifying hygienic carpets, light permeable concrete and translucent fire-proof fabrics were just a few of the innovations on show. Material researcher, Anne Farken told CID: “The response to our products has been phenomenal, people are so interested in learning about the potential of these materials and we have made so many contacts here.”

Campus brought together students from 17 textile institutions from across Europe to showcase their textile creations and designs. The striking displays included materials created from highly unusual sources such as zips, metals and cardboard and one creative installation which involved hundreds of material butterflies and animals suspended on wire from the ceiling. Braun insists that it is vital to bring young creatives to Heimtextil: “These are the new professionals who will be entering the market soon. They may still be doing their studies but they will soon be ready for market launches.”