Christmasworld is the key trade fair for Holiday trim and décor, organized each year by Messe Frankfurt and held in Frankfurt, Germany. Recently, Christmasworld exhibitors revealed the decorative trends they think will mean the most for 2013.
Members of The Trend Curve’s subscriber family will recognize many of their trends from our Christmasworld trend report from January of 2013. Subscribers will also notice that many of these directions have already been integrated into the style trends developed for our ‘Tis The Season color-and-trend forecast.
–Michelle
Cool, modern and easily combined. The decorative trends for Christmas 2013 are very clearly taking their cue from current fashion. As far back as January, exhibitors at Christmasworld, the world’s largest dedicated trade fair for festive and seasonal decorations, had already presented its latest product ideas to the trade. And now the season is finally almost upon us. A good point in time, perhaps, to ask what our homes are going to look like this Christmas.
Blue-green fresh air
The new ‘must’ for trend aficionados are expressive, cool shades such as turquoise, ice-blue, pistachio or, indeed, new creations such as the ‘Caspian green’ from the suppliers of home and gift items Casablanca-Design. In combination with silver, glitter and white and frosted surfaces, these cool shades bring a modern and invigorating breath of fresh air to Christmas decorations. In the ‘Winterwalk’ created by the Inge-Glas®label, transparent glass baubles with filigree stars and glass berries complement the delicate grey tones of the frosted winter picture. There is a simple elegance to the effect of the almost metre-high wire tree from decoration suppliers Drescher Living, with a mix of trendy colours and delicately patterned baubles setting it off to perfection. Alongside this, intense colours of purple, plum and berries are still very much in vogue, as, for example, in the mystical elegance of the ‘Winterberry’ collection by Krebs & Sohn.
A new take on traditional red
The perennial favourite red-green has had a rejuvenating makeover in the hands of many suppliers. There is a freshness to the cheeky addition of frogs and garden gnomes that hang alongside the traditional gingerbread hearts on the Christmas tree at the Christborn company. Birgit Müller-Blech, Head of Product Development and Design at Inge-Glas®, emphasises: “The life’s blood of Christmas decoration is a healthy mix of influences from both new trends and tradition.” And red remains the Christmas colour par excellence: “But, this year, it will also be combined with shades of orange and brown. Elegant, warm gold tones lend a festive note,” says Sandra Weigand, Marketing Director at Gala Kerzen, describing the trend. The candle manufacturer confronts the delicate balancing act between traditional and modern with a bold use of shiny metallic surfaces contrasted with natural materials and traditional Christmas motifs.
Gold, copper and moss-green fairy tales
Earthy tones such as mocha and brown, as well as deep aubergine, create an air of exclusive elegance. Gold is deliberately used in the background, for instance, to provide indirect lighting. In that way, the warmth of the intense natural colours is underlined – as, for instance, at candle makers, Kopschitz Kerzen, or accessory specialists, Gilde Handwerk. With ‘Spicy & Orange’, Inge-Glas® introduce a sumptuous oriental style in warm copper-brown, with elaborate patterns and painted designs. ‘Fairytale Forest’ again enchants us with orange, saffron-yellow and moss-green, together with elegant glass pine-cones, acorns and owls.
Owls, owls everywhere
As befits the season, natural materials such as wool, felt and wood ensure a cosy winter atmosphere. Inspiration from nature seems almost inexhaustible. Above all, it is wood – oiled, finely sanded or painted – that finds multifarious uses. The Gilde Handwerk label, for instance, offers large wooden angels that will create a relaxed Christmas mood inside as well as outside. When it comes to figures, the ever-present stags and reindeers find themselves in the company of other woodland creatures. Whilst the squirrel remains something of a newcomer and still lingers in the background, the owl is to be seen everywhere; in delicate porcelain, course-carved wood or as cuddly cushions. At Krebs Glas Lauscha, these popular night-lovers are as individual as they are in nature: each of these elegant one-offs is made from the purest glass, individually blown and then hand painted.
Orchids in frosted enchantment
Whilst the poinsettia and the amaryllis remain a must during Advent, it is the frosted and snow-covered silk and artificial flowers with a hint of jade that, above all, conjure that elegant winter ambience. White snowballs, too, give a quality effect, as do wild clematis and large English baroque roses. Even delicate orchids are subject to a touch of frosting. And when it comes to the avant-garde section, then things get exotic – as Markus A. Reinhold, Designer and Product Developer at floral specialists Flor & Decor from Hamburg knows well: “Alienation and strangeness are major topics here: gloriosa (flame lily) and strelitzia (crane flower) in copper, gold and silver create impressive and scintillating effects against a dark blue or violet background.” Be they flamboyant, or natural and fresh, accessories in cheap plastic are pretty well out. Reinhold stresses that “people don’t want imitations any more that just look like concrete or wood. Cracks, discoloration, worn patches – anything goes. Natural materials are in and can breathe free.”
Not real – just really beautiful!
Nevertheless, artificial alternatives do find some justifications. Accordingly, for instance, LED lights, which are very safe, are establishing themselves more and more. But, even here, it is all about the most natural effect possible. Marc Bergherr from Best Season, the specialists in Christmas lighting from Sarstedt, is very aware of this: “Real wax candles with an LED wick, particularly, are gaining greatly in popularity at the moment. With their warm light, they can hardly be distinguished from their traditional forebears. Because they are very safe, they are, of course, used where, say, there are large groups of people, children or animals involved – but also in public buildings such as schools.” They are economical in their consumption of electricity and very practical: many of the candles are fitted with a timer, which automatically switches the candle on and off. When it comes to lighting in the window, such as nativity scenes and candle arches, then an unstuffy ‘shabby chic’ is particularly acceptable. Nor have artificial Christmas trees needed to hide from their originals for a long time now, either. At the Dutch label ‘Black Box Tree’ from the Edelman company, they are banking on the success of the ‘Shake2shape Tree’, a Christmas tree with integrated LED lighting. When you shake it, it unfolds and plumps up freely, so that it is ready to be decorated in just two minutes.