On Trend: Heimtextil 2018

With the elaborate installation in hall 6.0, Messe Frankfurt will convey the megatrend of urbanisation to the textile industry in a targeted manner and make the practical aspects tangible. ‘Our trend area has long since become the showpiece of Heimtextil. It presents the colour and material trends of the coming season and shows real future prospects for our industry: from textile innovations for interior design to progressive production processes’, says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt. In addition to the impressive trend show, the trade fair special also offers interactive room situations and current projects by international first movers.

The London-based design studio FranklinTill is responsible for the concept of the Theme Park and the accompanying trend book. The basis for this was drawn up by the Heimtextil Trendtable during which international design studios from seven countries developed a common vision for the interior design.

City of the future
Inspired by the idea of urban life, the Colour Trend Rooms form the heart of this installation. Similar to a flat, visitors walk through five individually designed rooms in which they experience the styles Relax/Recharge, Perfect Imperfection, Soft Minimal, Adapt+Assemble and Urban Oasis in their purest form. In this environment, visitors can see the unfolding of four overarching lifestyle trends in typical urban locations and situations such as workplaces and production facilities, relaxation zones and social meeting places.

The Flexible Space
The limited living space available in the world's megacities presents interior design with well-known but also very special challenges. The Micro Home pavilion will present an exclusive solution to this by London's Studiomama label. The inventors of the “13m2 house” use every corner of the minimal living space. Thanks to the superb multi functionality of the cleverly designed furnishings, the interior can be easily converted and thus offers all the essential functions of a flat with normal proportions. The subtle colour scheme of Soft Minimal provides the necessary visual freedom.

The Healthy Space
Hardly any nature, an unnatural daily rhythm, constant busyness: urban life can have a fatal effect on human health. Designers find solutions in both nature and colour: in the "Green Work Space", plants humidify and filter the air within the working environment. Lush green tones from the Urban Oasis colour scheme have a healing effect and create places of retreat. The design orientation Relax/Recharge restores the energy balance with the help of colour. Monochrome red has a calming effect, while blue invigorates the senses. In the Colour Experience pavilion, visitors will find a protected space where they can enjoy a film-based work of art and try out its positive effect. Relax and recharge your batteries in the blue and red Relax/Recharge lounge.

The Re-Made Space
In the course of urbanisation, the volume of waste is increasing significantly. Designers and producers are therefore increasingly looking for ways out of the throwaway society. Interesting solutions are offered by e.g. Jorge Penades, who recycles leather leftovers in his designs and Pinatex, a label that produces innovative natural textiles from pineapple leaf fibres. The Remade Materials pavilion invites visitors to take a close look at new materials.

The Maker Space
Global developments such as digitalisation are fundamentally changing the relationship between manufacturer and consumer. This is already evident today in the maker movement, something that has also had a lasting influence on textile production. The Theme Park provides two current examples of this: in the studio, Lola Lely and Bristol Weavers Mill dye and process fabrics in a traditional manner. The results will grow over the course of the trade fair to form an overall work of art thanks to the participation of Heimtextil visitors. With the striking indigo and natural tones as well as the deliberately imperfect designs, the project is part of the Perfect Imperfection design trend. At the same time, the Dutch label Post Couture is showing how fashion can work as a DIY kit in the Fab Lab. An innovative connection system makes sewing superfluous and deliberately draws attention to the DIY making process. The strong red, blue, green and yellow tones of the Adapt+Assemble design trend highlight this effect.

Conference Space: high-calibre lecture series
The Conference Space is directly connected to the Theme Park. It offers high-calibre specialist lectures on the Heimtextil 2018/19 trends free of charge on all days of the trade fair. Every day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., designers Kate Franklin and Caroline Till from Studio FranklinTill explain the inspiration behind, idea and impact of the trend they call “The future is urban”. Members of the Trendtable also shed light on different business perspectives for the textile industry. Visitors can listen to e.g. Anne Marie Commandeur (Stijlinstituut Amsterdam, NL), Anja Bisgaard Gaede (Spott Trends & Business, DK), Virginie Corbasson (Carlin, F) and Gemma Riberti (WGSN Minset, USA). Exciting backgrounds for the colour trends and projects are provided by the companies that actively participate in the trends, such as Opendesk, Post Couture, Lola Ley, Studiomama and The British Weavers Mill.

Explore the Theme Park with the Audio Guide
Detailed information about the Theme Park can be found in an audio guide.
Using this, visitors can explore the Theme Park on their own initiative and have access to additional information and explanations about the various installations. The audio guide is integrated into the Heimtextil Navigator app, which is available free of charge from the App Store.

Heimtextil in Frankfurt am Main
Germany