Heimtextil 2011, Frankfurt

Last week we sped over to Frankfurt to take in the gargantuan Heimtextil fair, where over 2,600 exhibitors unveiled their latest fabrics and papers for every conceivable surface. Whether it was freelance designers showing new patterns ready to be put into production, big brands unveiling their latest collections, or contract houses revealing fabrics with new acoustic and olfactory benefits, there was plenty to inspire within the fair's epic 11 halls.
To bring a little focus to proceedings, show organisers, Messe Frankfurt, called in the trend gurus at The Future Laboratory to deliver their prophecies for 2011/12. Looking at signals in the worlds of art, fashion and design, they condensed these into four themes, summed up by their names: sobriety, wilderness, mix mash and utility. While perhaps already quite familiar ideas, the team certainly produced a beautiful edit of fabrics from exhibitors at the fair, many exploring new technologies. These were presented in four imaginatively conceived pavilions.
Messe Frankfurt is one of the world's biggest trade fair organisers and Heimtextil is one of its stalwarts, now in its 41st year. The first trade show of the year, it provides some indications about the shape of the industry over the next 12 months, and, with a growth in exhibitors and visitors on last year, it bodes well for 2011. All in all, the future is looking good.
'Utility' is about rough-hewn textures and an industrial aesthetic
More fabrics in the Utility pavilion
A Tosunoglu Tekstil swatch
More Utility samples, including a cork swatch by Pongs Textil
A Chaman Sultana Fabrics swatch
More Utility swatches, by the likes of FAF Design (right)
The ’Wilderness’ concept is about a mix of natural fabrics and raw textures
More Wilderness fabrics, including a swatch from the 'Into' collection by Liina Blom (centre)
The 'Mix Mash' look is about a vibrant mix of cultures, patterns, techinicraft and colour
More colourful examples of Mix Mash
An Ekelund Linneväveriet swatch
Throws from Silkeborg UAB, shown as part of the 'Sobriety' pavilion - about minimal luxury, authenticity and a rethink of midcentury style
Bark Cloth samples in the Green Exhibition
Bark Cloth samples
Sustainable fabrics at the Green Exhibition
A throw from Silkeborg Plaids, elsewhere in the exhibition
More from Silkeborg Plaids
Fabric swatches from Dash+Miller
'Linkki' by Morgane Joly - part of of the 'Young Contract Creation Awards: Upholstery' exhibition, for which designers were challenged to create multi-functional seating
'Pivot' by Mikka Mattsson
Fabrics from Fleuresse
'Rhythm' bedlinen by Hugo Boss, with furniture by Maxalto
'Dandy' bedlinen by Hugo Boss, with furniture by Roche Bobois and Maxalto
Vescom fabrics
Horn textiles
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Malaika Byng is an editor, writer and consultant covering everything from architecture, design and ecology to art and craft. She was online editor for Wallpaper* magazine for three years and more recently editor of Crafts magazine, until she decided to go freelance in 2022. Based in London, she now writes for the Financial Times, Metropolis, Kinfolk and The Plant, among others.
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