Contract & Hospitality Palettes, Themes & Innovations
Going with the Flow
Graphic texture and organic shapes are key to this season’s offerings. Often nature- inspired, these meandering patterns evoke the elements, from water to clouds to cracks in the desert surface. Small-scale textures encompass undulating lines, crackled or patinaed surfaces, dew drops, and rivulets. Geode and moiré-style patterns depict a maze-like, elegant quality, especially when rendered in metallics. Linen textures and nylon carpet offerings give a more rustic take on this organic look. Conjuring a sense of the beautiful chaos of nature, expect to see these easy-to-use designs continue their dominance.
Story Telling
Resimercial continues to grow: office furniture is moving into the home and residential customers increasingly request high performance fabric. The conversational styles that have been so important in residential design are gaining ground in contract and hospitality. From stylized human figures to palm trees, undersea creatures to farm scenes, there are plenty of unusual and expressive motifs on show. Important landscapes and scenics are joined by comic book graphics; stylized florals contrast against mosaic patterns and updated framed damasks. The drive for experiential design, self expression, and the interest for products that are personally significant will continue to expand interest in these figurative themes.
Contract Palettes- Royal Flush
- Enigmatic purple makes inroads.
- Red-cast and blue-cast versions work together to create complex product offerings.
- Complementary camel makes a natural companion by adding an earthy groundedness.
Designing A Better Future
The time for sustainable innovation is now, and the contract textiles industry is leading the way.
Consumers and producers alike are more aware than ever that surviving the Anthropocene, an era of significant human impact on our environment, will be no small feat. A recent survey found that 70% of consumers want to know what the brands they support are doing to address social and environmental issues. Renowned trend forecaster Li Edelkoort’s World Hope Forum had the highest attendance ever this year, showcasing designers working with natural fibers and regenerative practices. We are all aware of the climate crisis, but what do we do about it? Sustainability is a broad concept, and a goal that can be worked towards on many fronts. The contract industry was an early adopter of sustainable innovation, able to work at scale, and incentivized by regulations and building standards like LEED. Producers are taking multi-pronged approaches far beyond the initiatives highlighted in this section. Many companies that follow have CSR and/or sustainability standards that guide their business in general, as well as a variety of product and manufacturing innovations. For most companies the goal is to lessen impact, but some are more ambitious: regeneration, or net-positive impact. There is no “right” answer, except to keep making incremental changes wherever we can so that we can design a future worth living in.
Sustainability Recycled
One of the most common ways that companies are engaging with sustainable practices is by specifying recycled materials: cotton, wool, pre- and post-consumer polyester, glass, resin, and more. Some companies are capturing their own waste materials to create something new, like 3form’s Flek Pure which utilizes waste from their Varia panels, while others are capturing waste from other industries, like Artaic’s sintered glass made from car windshields. Plastic waste is coming from a variety of places, but standouts include Herman Miller’s ocean-bound plastic, and Camira’s SEAQUAL fiber. We’re also seeing brands reintroduce old favorites with sustainable updates: Herman Miller relaunched it’s Aeron Chair Portfolio with up to 2.5 pounds of plastic waste per chair, and Maharam brought back Alexander Girard’s Mexidot textile, now made with 100% post-consumer recycled polyester.
Artaic offers sintered glass made of recycled car windshields for many of the designs in their collection.
