2020 Textile Trends seen at Heimtextil – Part 2

This post is a continuation of yesterday’s post, which highlighted Trend Space at Heimtextil 2020.  Yesterday I gave an overview of the overarching theme, “Where I Belong” which encompassed 5 key textile trends for 2020:

• Heritage Lux
• Multi-Local
• Maximum Glam
• Pure Spiritual
• Active Urban

In addition to the 2020 textile trends presented in Trend Space, I also observed several other recurring themes on the show floor.

THE 2020 TEXTILE TRENDS  – My Observations of Recurring Themes at Heimtextil 2020

First of all, a few notes on my color observations from Heimtextil.  This year there is still an abundance of color.  However, the saturation levels have been taken down a couple of notches.  Because of this, the colors have less of an edge.  Jewel tones, especially deep teal and ochre are strong as is terra cotta and sage, but they are less vibrant and have a slightly worn character about them.

The recurring themes seen on the Heimtextil show floor:

• Animalia
• Reimagining the Past For the Present
• Engineered prints and weaves | large scale murals
• Sustainability

ANIMALIA

Animalia was the most prevalent motif seen at Heimtextil this year.  Just about every animal was represented on the show floor.  Images of wild cats in the jungle, birds in flight and menageries of imaginary animals.  All of these were seen on materials throughout the show.

Wallpaper

Animal print seems to always be trending in both the fashion and home furnishings industry.  The wild kingdom is really making its mark in the textile world this season but with animal motifs rather than animal prints. These prints were  whimsical and among the freshest  that I’ve seen in quite some time.

Textiles

Engineered animal motifs were seen in textiles via both fancy weaves and print and are a key textile trend for 2020.

REIMAGINING THE PAST FOR THE PRESENT

The overriding theme for this category was taking archival patterns and motifs and updating them for today by recoloring into a modern palette or adding whimsical, modern motifs to the original patterns.

Updated Arts and Crafts Movement

Morris & Co was given a fresh update with a color palette that is atypical of the Arts and Crafts movement that Morris & Co is known for.

Arts and Crafts inspired prints also appeared in several other lines but each with a modern twist.

Modern Art Deco

It’s no surprise that the Roaring 20s would make a return 100 years later in 2020.  Reinterpretations of Art Deco motifs were strong, with  a play on scale and color palette to give the motifs a modern edge.

SUSTAINABILITY | GREEN DESIGN

Sustainability was a major focus at Heimtextil. The Green Village and Green Tours offered education to exhibitors and visitors on all aspects of sustainability.   The Green Directory  listed all exhibitors providing sustainably sourced and produced materials for the home.  This directory, in addition to signage on every booth  made it easier to identify the manufacturers that offer  environmentally conscious product.

The Future Materials Library showed the process of how usable materials can be made from waste and otherwise unusable materials.  The Heimtextil Future Materials Library exhibited a solid commitment  to sustainable exploration and education an is also a category that is sure to grow in future years. The Future Materials Library consisted of 4 categories:

• Natural Assets
• Biological Byproduct
• Remade
• Living Materials

Natural Assets

Farmers have over-farmed natural materials, making them scarce.  Sustainable harvesting relies on resilient varieties and offers up a solution to the depletion of our natural resources.

Palmleather is an affordable and sustainable alternative to leather, plastic and rubber.  A glycerine-based softening solution softens the leaves of the areca palm.  This process results in a material that looks and feels like leather.

Biological Byproducts

A machine extracts cellulose fibers from discarded biological products such as pineapple.  They also spin the fibers into a vegan alternative to wool. Weavers spin the wool and process it into luxurious fabrics.

Remade

Post-consumer waste (discarded jeans) and water based epoxy bonded together creates rigid slabs.  Machines cut the hardened slabs into table tops and stools.

Living Materials

Faber Futures uses the unique interaction between protein fibers and a wild strain of the soil-dwelling organism Streptomyces coelicolor to create a colorfast finish without the use of chemicals.

Heimtextil has a solid  commitment to sustainability.  In addition to the Future Materials Library, the Green Village highlighted the latest developments in the green sector.

ENGINEERED WEAVES AND PRINTS | LARGE-SCALE MURALS

With the advent of digital printing came the ability to engineer prints in a more cost-effective way. Window treatments and bedding at Heimtextil all made use of these printing processes

Wallcoverings have also experienced a demand for large scale murals.

In addition to these major 2020 home textile trends, I also observed several  emerging trends.  We will be sure to see more of these emerging trends as the year progresses.

• Multi-colored, textured bouclés
• A shift from velvet to velour
• Soft contrast – less black and white and a move towards a toned-down charcoal and cream
• Black ink hand illustration prints with hand-tinting

As you can see, Heimtextil was chock full of information and an important show to attend to preview the 2020 textile trends for the upcoming season and beyond. A huge thank you to Heimtextil and Messe Frankfurt for inviting me on this year’s press tour.

Today I am in Las Vegas attending KBIS – the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show.   I am gathering information on the newest kitchen and bath introductions, keeping updated on the latest trends, and learning more about smart home technology.   Follow along on Instagram and Instagram stories as I’ll be posting regularly from the show floor.

Cheers!