Innovative Moods
The “Innovation Platform” from MoOD, Meet only Original Designs, is a must-see for anyone seeking the latest developments in innovative fabrics and decorative upholstery, window treatments, and wallcovering materials. This highly successful exhibit is now in its sixth year, and continues to showcase technically high-performance fabrics. Not only do they have remarkable properties, the textiles are also practical and stylish. And now the show is hitting the road! If you missed it in Brussels in September, try to catch it in Sydney this February.
A central part of the Innovation Platform is dedicated to a Sample Bank, where visitors can browse through endless lanes of sophisticated fabrics and decorative materials. In the latest edition, many of the textiles are shimmery or metallic and feature precise, delicate laser-cuts, 3-D textures and corrosion printing techniques. It is hard to keep your hands off them! Traditional textiles, like jacquard, blended linen and metallic threads. A double piece of velvet contains 100% microviscose fiber in the pile making it super shiny. Perfect for luscious throws or cushions.
Just in time for the New Year, Beaulieu Fabrics NV wants to warm your home with their stunning decorative jacquard fabric. Warmth is gently transmitted through your seat thanks to threads of acrylic aluminum yarn woven into polyester and cotton. Or curl up on a mattress cover finished with silk proteins for a soft touch. So cozy.
Perhaps playing into the popularity of a certain series of vampire movies, Bolon AB created “Twilight” – a collection of shimmering woven metallic floors. Dusk and shadows are brought indoors thanks to three versions with different structures and combinations of natural earth tones. Muted blues and shadowy browns would easily add depth and texture to any room.
And in case you’re planning any more wild holiday parties, Xtreme leather is perfect for upholstery, wall or window covering. It’s a natural, genuine leather that has been chrom and vegetable tanned and pigmented. It also offers complete protection from everything, even wine and champagne. It’s designed to resist to mildew, suntan oil, alcohol and plain old water. As it’s antibacterial and contains a disinfecting agent, it’s supposedly also urine resistant. Aren’t you glad you asked?
As a Canadian, snow features heavily in my winter plans. Thankfully, a new fabric “Emphusis” contains elastomer that can resist extreme temperatures to as low as -40oC. It’s also waterproof, UV resistant, entirely transparent, and does not interfere with any material that it covers. Perfect for shoes, bags and all manner of outdoor gear. Perhaps it could be interesting for the growing outdoor furniture market?
These spectacular textiles are a clear sign that design and technology has come an awfully long way in the first decade of the 21st century. Trendease is excited to see what’s in store for the next ten years.
—Morwenna Marwah
