Guimares Home Fashion Week is a showcase for Portuguese manufacturers of towels, rugs, sheets, comforters, throws and more. The fourth annual edition of GHFW took place June 26 and 27. One of the biggest trends at this year’s fair came from embellishments. This was not because they were opulent … [Read more...]
Sustainable Textiles at GHFW
The fourth annual Guimarães Home Fashion Week was held June 26 and 27 in Guimarães, Portugal. At this year's fair, ways to minimize the impact of home-textiles production rivaled interesting materials as top innovations. Fátima Sousa, Commercial Manager for Domingos de Sousa & Filhos, … [Read more...]
Ready for Heimtextil 2019
With just a few days before Heimtextil 2019 opens at Messe Frankfurt, there’s once again optimism in a new year. That’s in spite of economic volatility and political unrest globally. One reason is the theme for the 2019/2020 design trends, always one of the most anticipated presentations at the … [Read more...]
Smitten by Texture at GHFW
After years of focus on minimalist simplicity, consumers began to crave product designs with a different sort of character. Mixed media combinations were the market’s first response to that need. The next step was texture. And once consumers got a look at what texture could provide, they were … [Read more...]
These Ideas Are On The Fringe
For so many years fringe has been thought of (when anybody thought of it at all) as down-market. It had a reputation for being thin and scraggly, and it always got tangled in the wash. No wonder fringe faded from view long ago. But now fringe is back in a big way, and it has a growing following … [Read more...]
Dots are On-Trend for Christmas
I just finished writing Trend Album™: Christmasworld 2018, The Trend Curve's trend report about the Christmasworld trade fair that runs about 80 pages and includes more than 150 images. Among the noteworthy surface-design trends for Christmas was dots. Dots are trending for Christmas because they … [Read more...]
MADE/Slow at Showcase Ireland
Showcase was founded by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland 42 years ago. Today, it is among The Trend Curve's favorite trade fairs. Why? Because most of the products found at this annual Dublin-based event are designed and made by Irish crafters, so the quality is high. Even better, these are … [Read more...]
Heimtextil 2018
Heimtextil is the biggest international trade fair for home and contract textiles, and because it’s the first trade fair of the year for its sector, it acts as a barometer for the new business year. Interestingly, however, the next edition of it (to be held from January 9th through 12th 2018) will … [Read more...]
Light + Building 2018
The Light + Building exhibit is the leading world trade fair for Lighting and Building Services technology and the Spring 2018 edition of it is sure to become a hotspot for design. Running from March 18th through the 23rd, this Fair will be focused upon various styles, which incorporate the latest … [Read more...]
Retail Reconnaissance: Merci Paris
Although the majority of my time is spent looking far into the future, a portion of it is always spent at retail looking at what's happening in the here and now. I believe that retail reconnaissance is absolutely vital to the business of trend. It provides a real-world view of how color, shape, … [Read more...]