Trend Flash™ is exclusively for members of the Trend Curve™ subscriber family with immediate updates from each market and trade show we cover worldwide. Elaine Markoutsas, Editorial Correspondent for The Trend Curve, was in Bologna, Italy for Cersaie, the “International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings“. Her top trends are below:
COLOR
- 50 shades of greige covered the market
- Blues looked fresh in multiple personalities
- Greens continued to nurture in shades from malachite to lime to olive
- Reds inched toward coral and away from tomato
- Orange was hushed to soft terra cottas and apricots
- Yellows did best in Mediterranean style, interpreted as saffron or ochre
- Browns were quite strong, from bittersweet chocolate to cappuccino and cinnamon
FORMS AND FINISHES
- Hexagons became the shape du jour
- Planks widened and lengthened; subways amped up in scale
- Creases and folds channeled directional origami
- Quilted looks, some reminiscent of trapunto stitching, meant puffed-up patterns
- Super-sizing took another giant step: porcelain slabs measuring 5 ½ x 11 feet
- From the wet look of lacquer to the chalky surface of concrete, metallic shone
- Wall “coverings”, applied with a trowel, recreated sophisticated stucco Veneziano
PATTERNS
- Op art took a subtle turn via computer-generated graphics, dimensional applications
- Graffiti-inspired drawings surfaced, including pop art by Keith Haring
- Comic art targeted the 20s to 40s demographic
- Traditional took turns, with digitally printed mash-ups that read like patchworks
- Modern takes on traditional patterns refreshed them for a new generation
- Overlay and underlay patterns gave stone and wood looks rich personalities