I love seeing the new trends emerging from the producers, they are at the cutting edge of design and it always amazes me as to how long it takes for these trends to filter into the design/fabric/wallpaper books in the showrooms, then into firstly contract projects, and lastly domestic ones. By the time this happens designers are usually sick of the sight of the trend but it normally takes about 3 years for it to reach the domestic level so it’s not surprising!
Being at the cutting edge, well front row of it anyway, we can give you a guided tour of the new trends as they happen year on year from the very people who dictate these trends. Who dictates these trends??? Well its not just the producers its a combination of design professionals that are highly respected in their field, from all over Europe, and at the cutting edge of design that are asked to contribute to the trends each year. Different people are asked to contribute each trend season so as to have fresh perspectives and new insights into where design is heading in the next 3-5 years.
Each year there are 4 new trends. This year they are Colour Riot, Dark Lux, Craft Industry, and Split Clarity.
Starting with Colour Riot it’s as it sounds, a riot of bright primary colours, dynamic, bold, vivid and bright. They are thrown together in a mish-mash of clashing. bold shades much like a rainbow. The textures in this palette are as bold as the colours, high gloss, shiny, iridescent and recycled materials
. “Plastic Fantastic” great for nightclubs, bars, hair salons, retails outlets, boutique hotels.
Patterns also play a big part in this trend, large geometric patterns, graphic motifs and broad stripes all in bold bright colours, the digital age, computerised digital designs, photographic prints, think Andy Warhol. This is the in your face trend, not for the light hearted or bland, it’s a statement
trend, show your unique style, combining 50’s patterns, 60’s prints, 70’s punk style, 80’s computer age and a mish-mash of 90’s digital trends all blended
in todays unique nu cool wave style. That’s Colour Riot.
Dark Lux is a very different cat, so to speak as it is a luxurious little minx of a trend that is sure to appeal to everyone. Black is most definitely the new 
black and hurrah at last black is back and oh so sexy!
Think night time, shadows, rain at 5am on a New York street, sultry, sexy, shady and a bit dangerous but oh so elegant and beautiful.
Colours are dark luxurious dominated by deepest black in materials such as high gloss laminates, furs, both long and short haired, smooth hides, touchable textures. Mix in dark coloured accents and pep it up with metalic golds and champagnes. Everything is liquid flowing but with an edge giving the feel of modernity but timeless.
Dash this all together with textured surfaces, to add depth so that high gloss, fur, metalic shimmers, sequins are the main staples in this trend. Dark Lux, brings you the beauty of the night-time. Savour it like a fine wine!
Craft Industry is that meeting of mad max and cottage craft. You think how can this possibly work but it does and it’s very cool. Think of all the pop up shops selling vintage cottage furniture and sitting beside it is a desk made out of scaffolding. You know it is completely different but it works! Thats 
Craft Industry.
Traditional crafts meets modern industrial. Natural landscapes of trees, rivers, sky, and mountains mixed with industrial factories, coal, mining, metals, copper and gold. These are your colour tones.
Textures are irregular, but with lots of structural elements. Authentic images and materials with a vintage edge as well as distressed, strained, destroyed and used looks.
Patterns are of the traditional ilk, offset checks, patch work designs, stripes, broken patterns, hand sewn looks, elaborately processed patches, checks and stripes with a partial pile effect to give it that hand made look.
So distressed, used textures, crafty, hand-made patterns, colours of both nature and the industrial age, this is Craft Industry!
Lastly but by no means least, well actually, less is more or so says this trend, it’s Split Clarity. Functional, minimal, simple, essential. These are the elements of Split Clarity, less is more. Clean, high tech, sustainable, new materials, clear-cut modern in it’s vision. The clarify comes into it by way of the colour palette, which given it’s name comes as no surprise to be of nature as the inspiration. Versatility in materials in this trend is crucial, 
reflective and metalic surfaces, transparent and semi-plain patterns as are restrained animated surfaces.
Severity in graphics with high contrasts and linear designs will create the depth giving the illusion of light and shadow by using them with different materials and surfaces.
This is the bare essentials trend and it will appeal to a lot of designers as it doesn’t jump on the bandwagon of the here today gone tomorrow trends. Less is very much more, this is Split Clarity.
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