Li Edelkoort’s seminar at this year’s Design Indaba was particularly informative and the Fibre Designs team were excited to distill the international trend guru’s ideas into what is relevant to the world of floorware.
Colours
Colours of 2011 are inspired by the earth so we’re likely to see sandy yellows alongside water derived colours like swimming pool blue and indigo. This is a great inspiration for us, as we have just conceptualised a new range dubbed “Colour Reform” – we’ll keep you posted.
Fabrics
Fabrics are silent and organic and we should see the rise of mohair, wool, cashmere and linen. Again, we are spot on trend – our collaboration with Mohair South Africa will have you crawling on your knees! Our extensive wool collection is also seeing great innovation and new structures will soon be available.
Retail and product development
Retail and product development will move towards better satisfaction for the client so we should see calmer shopping spaces, where the client leaves with exactly what they desire, and where they are involved in the customisation and design process of their purchase. Fibre Designs picked up on this trend when we opened our doors just over 5 years ago. The entire ethos of our business is to allow full customisation where client and designer can work together to achieve a truly bespoke item. Your vision, alongside our experience should ultimately translate into a reality that you would be proud to invest in.
Blurring inside and outside
The differentiation of interiors on the inside and landscaping on the outside will become more blurred, and as a result furniture and floorware will move outdoors and pebbled sculptures and landscaped carpets will come indoors. Our new outdoor range, The Verandah Collection, supports this trend and we are currently in production of our first prototypes – with client orders already streaming in.
The consumer will be invited to landscape their interior as if it were a garden or outdoor space. The grasslands will be a source of floorware inspiration so expect to see woven grasses and knotted reeds. We were delighted to hear this as our bast fibre (hemp) rugs have taking off at a rapid pace – clearly our clients are on top of the trends too!
Texture & Tactility
Finally, texture and tactility are back in our attempt to reconnect with real products and thus knitted texture in a sculptural form will be evident, particularly showing off the do-it-yourself and handmade element of product design. We simply cannot wait to show you what we have in mind for this trend prediction – we’ve been spending time abroad doing product research and development and will soon be bringing these on-trend items to the market.
Li Edelkoort’s trend forecast is an enlightening experience that creates the pulse we keep our design fingers on. In many ways it affirms the direction we at Fibre Designs follow – our products for 2011 supports global trends without losing the timeless appeal our rugs are loved for.