Design for the Future

Every year Frankfurt hosts the opening event of the design season – Heimtextil, the largest textile trade fair in the world. This year Heimtextil featured nearly three thousand exhibitors and introduced the leading trends for 2018/2019.

‘The future is urban’ was the motto of this year's Heimtextil theme park, which introduced the main lifestyle trends for the coming season: the healthy space, the flexible space, the re-made space and the maker space. Seven international trend agencies were involved in the planning of the theme park, and the final look of the installations was the work of the British design studio Franklintill.

More than half of the global population lives in cities, and this number is likely to grow in the coming decades. As urbanisation expands it brings many challenges to our way of life. Many are asking how this will influence the way we live, work, consume and socialise in the future. How will architects and designers respond to our changing demands? The Heimtextil trade fair introduced four lifestyle trends that will set the tone not only for the coming season, but also for the coming years – trends that are attempting to find creative solutions to changes that affect each and every one of us.

The first trend is focused on the flexible space. People move around more today than ever before, and there is growing pressure on space in big cities, causing apartments to shrink to an absolute minimum. The second trend is that of the healthy space. Whether we are working or relaxing, on average we spend about ninety per cent of our time indoors. This has immense implications for our health and so designers are looking for solutions through ‘return to nature’ initiatives and also in the use of colours and their influence on our moods. Another trend, recycling or remaking, is about addressing the ever-growing mountain of refuse that we collectively generate on a daily basis. New technologies are emerging around meaningful recycling, not only for paper and plastics, but also sawdust and textiles. The last trend can be understood as a return to craft in an era of digitisation. People no longer want to simply buy – they want to be involved in the making process and to support local production. ■

Every person produces on average 0.64 kg of refuse per day, an amount that is likely to grow. It is no longer enough to focus on how to reduce the rubbish we produce – we must work on remaking existing refuse into useful materials.

In the aptly named Atelier installation visitors could try out traditional techniques of processing and dying textiles under the helpful guidance of the designer Lola Lely, for whom the creative process is as important as the outcome itself.

London-based designer Lola Lely explores the traditional Japanese resist dying technique known as shibori, in which she uses natural pigments derived from plants and food.

The number of city dwellers grows with each year. How does urbanisation change our lives and how should we respond to these changes? This was the main focus of the Theme Park, an annual Heimtextil installation that looks at future trends.

The London-based Studiomama introduced a flat in which every piece of furniture is multifunctional and every centimetre has its use. The studio asks the question of what we can’t do without.

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are common in cities that never sleep. Studio (Un)Known Collective explores the influence of colours on our mood and energy. The collective used an audiovisual installation called Colour Experience to explore the influence that red and blue colours have on us.

The designer Conor Taylor from Foresso studio came up with an idea for using wood waste – more specifically the shavings of high quality wood. The result is a product with a grainy surface that closely resembles terrazzo.

They say that even one living plant in a workspace improves productivity and concentration. At the Green Work Space installation, visitors to the trade fair could refresh in a green oasis inside a large technical hall.

text: Helena Novotná | photo: Helena Novotná and Messe Frankfurt GmbH / Pietro Sutera, Rei Moon