May 2005 / Fashions of Our Lives


Download a FREE Trendease Trend Brochure.

Our Creative Director, Jennifer Castoldi, gave multiple presentations in New York City this month. If you couldn't make it, or want to relive the edutainment, complete the order form to purchase a CD/download of the presentation(s) that interest you.

Presentations available:
Trendease Extracts and Tidbits
(20+ Trade Shows This Year)
Presented to Executive Workers in Home Textiles

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
(Recapping the hottest event in Milan)
Presented to Intl. Furnishings & Design Association

Hot Products & New Opportunities
Presented at Surtex

Lifestyle Trends 2006
Private Presentations
Information and Scheduling: Contact us

Download a printable info packet on Trendease.

Features and Articles

Jennifer's May Marvels '05

Paris — We have been watching the trend where the old becomes new. From countries’ political standing to technology and paper dolls, even spider webs are high design; there is an adaptation to what is new by finding what was comforting from the past. While we are not looking behind as we forge ahead, we are not forgetting where we came from either. Read more inside, and enjoy a gallery of tomorrow’s dolls.

A Lifestyle in an International Fair

Milan — Some of the most effective merchandising is lifestyle merchandising. There are times when a customer will walk into a store, and leave holding a receipt listing the exact merchandise seen on display. And that is not limited to the end consumer. Retailer buyers need eye candy too. This gallery features 80 images of the lifestyle merchandising that stood out from the rest, as well as the trends observed at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile.

Designed by Philippe Starck

A Little Light on the Subject

Milan — Euroluce is the International Biennial Lighting Exhibition that runs parallel to the Salone Internazionale del Mobile on odd years. Exhibitors included manufacturers for the retail markets to designers and representatives from the lighting technology industry. Explore this gallery reviewing Trendease’s top product choices from Euroluce 2005 and discover new ways to put a little light on the subject.

The sexy urinal, Kisses

Bathing Beauty

Milan — Other than the sexy urinal, Kisses, that caught attention of CNN, Playboy, women’s rights groups, and the international press, there were plenty of other sexy ways to decorate one of the most private rooms of the house. From organic lines to Zen gardens, Trendease has scoped out the hot new models and brings them to you straight from Milan.

A punchout table setting

Live via Satellite

Milan — Running concurrently to the Salone Internazionale del Mobile SaloneSatellite is the hall to be when scouting new talent at this fair. After a walk through this exhibit there were some definite trends standing out among 500+ hot new designers and 22 international design schools. Scout them here.

A Superstudio of Textures & Materials

Milan — Textures&Materials was housed in the Superstudiopiù of Zona Tortona, the hottest and most visited off-site event coinciding with the Salone del Mobile in Milan. The aim of the exhibit is to give visibility to new and different materials and the possibilities related to these materials. Let visions and rich ideas take hold of you in this gallery of images covering the exhibit.

A cafe on the design map

Milan Happenings

Milan — April 13-18th was the most happening time in Milan, as the Milanese will tell you, and it won’t be quite the same until the next design week comes along in 2006. The international design show is not contained within the fairgrounds as the events spill out to take over Milan for 6 days. The entire city is a buzz with excitement and activities for the lovers of design. See some of the highlights of the takeover of Milan here.

Sophisticated Art and Interiors

Prague — Come and explore one of the most refined design shows we have attended by viewing over 100 images. Art & Interior6 proved to be the must-attend event in Prague. Feeling closer to a museum gallery than a trade fair, this exhibit had a line out the door of visitors eagerly waiting to enter. New doors have opened both inside and out of the Czech borders this last year; read more to see the potential that lies within design.

A rainbow of options

The Glass of Kings

Prague — Tradition is a living thing, and Moser is not merely a museum of glasswork, but a brand that has evolved to find new forms for elegance. Moser’s boutique presents classic Czech design in an extraordinary mansion from another age, inviting shoppers to step out of the modern day. In this gallery take a trip into yesterday and see what makes Moser a sustainable brand of the past and the future.

New Talent: Czech Design

Prague — Open to the trade and the public, April’s Art & Interior exhibition, including contemporary Czech design, showed contemporary Czech design is flourishing in an eclectic and delightful explosion of new trends. The Czechs have a knack for turning household objects into an exercise in innovation. See innovative minds at work here.

I-view

Responsible Design: The Future

New York — The Fashion Institute of Technology’s Home Products Development Department is an industry-leader producer. As the seniors compete, faced with the real-life challenge of looking 20 years into the future, they develop products that leave the industry anticipating the Annual Scholarship Breakfast where the projects are unveiled. In this feature view the 2005 forward-thinking projects.

EcoChic: Ecology & Design

Generagues — This May enjoy timeless contemporary design with a thoughtful ethical way of working, which produces lines of beautiful handmade serving vessels, platters, containers and other home accessories. These EcoChic products with modern forms, fashionable colors, and perfect finishes rival that of anything on the market. EcoChic is about actively engaging environmental issues through advances in materials and technology, and doing it with a sophisticated aesthetic vision.

Frenetic Brazil

Paris — It is the Year of Brazil in France and to celebrate Printemps, the trendy Parisian department store, has decorated its windows with vivid costumes and fashions, making you feel as though you are dancing through the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Come let loose in this gallery of festive images.

Crazy with joy at Lo&Ca

Style is Born

Barcelona — Our Trendease Team hits the streets once again! While exploring one of the hottest contemporary districts in Barcelona we took note of eight of trendiest shops. Here we bring you a recap of what we found, including shots from the neighborhood, and goodies from art, jewelry, fashion accouterments and apparel, to lighting and home fashion accessories. Take a trip with Trendease without getting on a plane.

Bangles at D & J

London — Windows depicting interior lifestyle settings show beautifully presented tables, laid with delicate, lacy cloths. A Buddhist element also comes through with the use of natural mats, wall carvings, lotus flower candles, and plenty of natural wood, all in neutral tones. See this and plenty more in this gallery of shop windows.

Elegantly Reserved

London — A curtain of natural wood ellipses hangs as a backdrop in each window. In some displays vacuum cleaners, ironing boards, and even motorbikes, have been placed to enhance the contrast of the industrial and mechanical against the organic. See these displays and oodles more in this gallery!

Kaleidoscopic Displays

London — Striking fashion displays are the highlight of the Harvey Nichols windows. The backgrounds are covered from ceiling to floor in a dazzling array of contradicting kaleidoscopic patterns. Colors clash yet complement the extravagant and quirky color schemes of the clothes on the mannequins. Read more and check out this gallery of images.

NEWSLETTER #70

Den Bosch — In this week’s gallery we bring you some of the earthenware from Zona Tortona, the center of design, fashion and the flow of creative juices in Milan. See how these products that encompass historical craftsmanship “translate form into shape, and concept into reality.” And don't forget to catch up with the latest tidbits!

NEWSLETTER #71

Milan — This week we bring you more covering the takeover of Milan during design week. In this gallery, see how the established player Alessi has branched out into an impressive range of products from housewares to textiles. Don't miss out on tidbits about air travel and recent Trendease presentations.

NEWSLETTER #72

London — This month Liberty’s trademark, eclectic elegance, is off set with a contrasting anarchic twist. The windowpanes are painted crudely, in whites, yellows, blacks, and reds, depicting primal figures, horseshoes, scientific symbols and ghoulish faces. Slogans like “TEMPT”, “DELIGHT YOU” and “ATTENTION” scrawl across the glass in bold text. Read this week's tidbits and learn more about this retail report.

Adrian Hornsby, Jeremy Mercer, Quinn Comendant of Kilometer Zero pulled off one of the most amazing live art installations

NEWSLETTER #73

Beijing — This is a time of evolution and revolution where, among many things, not only are more western products produced in China, but more western-style products are simultaneously being consumed in China, and the Chinese people are challenged to grasp the traditional way of life in a modernizing society. Kilometer Zero's 'The Short Step' project, displayed here, makes us stop and think...