May 2016 / Embracing Limbo


Located throughout the world, the Trendease Team continues to deliver our subscribers around the globe must-know market information and inspiration straight to their computer screens.

The world may be uncertain, but that does not require us to be. Rather it is an ideal opportunity for experimentation and novel ideas. A new natural is born. Technology and tradition coexist. Newfangled processes are piggybacked off of the tried and true. Open minds bring forth a brighter future where there are so many more possibilities than we ever imagined. Examples of these are interspersed with directions and Pantone colors for S/S 2017. Get inspired with the May edition!

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REPORTING TO INSPIRE,
Jennifer Castoldi,
Chief Creative Director

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Features and Articles

Jennifer's May Marvels

Multiple European Cities — It is time to embrace the uncertainty, the limbo we are in. This indeterminate state is an opportunity for reflection and inspiration. In this edition of Trendease many ideas are placed before you for 2017 and beyond. Across the board there is a multidisciplinary approach to success. No waste policies thrive and using industrial leftovers or recycled resources are some of the directions taken towards sustainability. And in this gallery learn about the hottest floral trend for the coming seasons!

The New Natural

Multiple European Cities — Over the last year Trendease has written and discussed a plethora of new design processes and materials with which designers are experimented with and breaking new ground. It is undeniable that there is a new natural emerging. It implies a study of nature, material, and innovation. Working with spoiled milk in production, novel uses of soapstone, new recipes of ingredients such as sugar, fungus and dirt breed fresh concepts, and keeping tradition alive through time-honored skills are all part of this feature.

Synthetic & Upcycled Yarns with Heart

Multiple Mexican Cities — Sometimes life presents us precious moments where many chapters of our lives intersect. That happened here when Jennifer’s past experience of supervising print strike and runs in Mexico, and her intrigue in an eco-material discovered in 2012 in the Netherlands, merged when at Milan Design Week last month and will continue to MoOD’s Launch Pad in Brussels September 2016. Four separate projects now share a common thread.

FOLD is the outcome of an exploration of the art of weaving with support from Bergen Academy and Innvik Weaving Mill.

Grappling with Ethical Conundrums

Worldwide — While people today struggle more with moral codes “we are now facing modern day ethical dilemmas and are compelled to make educated decisions as transparency and awareness are prolific in everything from food, manufacturing, and beyond.” Here you can fins Pantone color stories for apparel and home for the S/S 2017 season as well as innovations in textile knits and jacquards for upholstery, clothing, and more.

Silk and copper lighting experiment

An Altered State of Transition

Worldwide — Cotton Incorporated writes, “Embracing limbo or an altered state of transition. This sense of Suspension can literally mean being caught between two ideas or worlds as we explore the increasing grey areas of our lives. As consumers, we can co-exist in both a virtual and physical reality as retail becomes more interactive. This state of transition is a reoccurring theme in architecture and design as experimental abstraction and visual trickery leaves us guessing as objects and art seem to perpetually evolve.”

Allowing for Individual Creativity

Worldwide — In this S/S 2017 trend mass customization is allowing for individual creativity in textiles, new materials, accessories, and beyond. The home and fashion Pantone color stories have vibrant hues and key buzz phrases include programmable color, glitched knits and weaves, modern coatings, mixed directions, and custom formality. See talent from Mexico, Japan, Italy, Finland, the UK, and the Netherlands.

No Over-conceptualized Design

Worldwide — In this Spring/Summer 2017 direction we say no to over-conceptualized design where things are simple, mundane even, yet bright, allowing creativity to flow. We witness a collection inspired by the traditional nomadic dining of Emirati families and the collection is meant to bring people together in a traditional manner, and it aims to celebrate natural materials like textiles and leather, sand, clay, and pewter. Knit tabletops and yachting upholstery pique interests. Pantone stories for home and fashion.

Shatter Antiquated Boundaries

Worldwide — Lost design returns: Eight-point star tiles inspire a new tabletop design for trays—taking the traditional idea from the Islamic world that when the tiles are assembled together each tile’s inscription is part of a larger story, but here tiles have a twist as each illustration focuses on frivolous things. The borders between permanent and fleeting, refined and simple, beautiful and ugly are explored. Also included are design directions for S/S 2017 and Pantone references.

Printed furniture from the FESPA Awards by E&A Design, Netherlands

NEWSLETTER #545 - Digital Print for Interiors

Amsterdam — Trendease is delighted to share with you this gallery of skilled companies at the forefront of digital print for interiors who showcased at Printeriors and FESPA. Here you can find various textiles and substrates on which to print, ink suppliers, machines, print service providers, and a slew of inspiration (imagine ceramic ink layered on glass!). Plus watch a video tour!

NEWSLETTER #546 - An Epic Journey

Brussels — The 2016 edition of MoOD will be our fifth year curating a section of the Innovation Platform, our second year with the Launch Pad, and we are also looking for interesting materials, accessories, processes, service providers, as well as special partners for September. If you know of a designer or company that fits the bill, please let us know! To be expanded upon at the show, the trend theme is Epic—learn more here.

Screen print

NEWSLETTER #547 - FIT Textiles & Surfaces

New York — During the New York City design festivities Trendease popped into the Fashion Institute of Technology with the intention to visit the end of year student exhibition. There were a few things that jumped out while exploring what the future of the creative industries had on show, one of which the work from the Textile/Surface Design department. Learn more inside.

NEWSLETTER #548 - Cabinets Beyond Curiosity

New York — The pros and cons of this profession is that I have decorated thousands of properties in my head over the last 19 years and for every interior, real or imagined, there is a running editorial commentary about each space. New York design week certainly added fuel to this flame, and in the case of this newsletter these cabinets definitely pique curiosity and add interest to any space.