Tender Poem, Mystic Ode, Weird Diary, Inventive Hymn – the new looks tell stories that touch the soul.
‘Stories to be told’ – such is the emotive thread that runs through the colours and materials for next year’s festive decorations. The trend bureau bora.herke.palmisano derives its highly reliable prognoses for the decorations sector as a whole from the latest currents in fashion, art, architecture, and furniture and product design. “There is intense interest worldwide in key epochs, key artistic paradigms, and styles. We take these striking contemporary tendencies and apply them to the world of festive and seasonal decoration for Christmasworld,” explains design expert Annetta Palmisano.
The four style scenarios of the Christmasworld trends for 2015/16 go by the names of Tender Poem, Mystic Ode, Weird Diary, and Inventive Hymn. “Each style is unmistakable in its own right, yet at the same time, they all seek to find stories that touch our souls,” adds Ms. Palmisano.
Tender Poem – Nostalgic Mementoes
Impressionism is the font of inspiration for the poetic notes in this style which is both contemporary and feminine. Warm flesh tones, white, dove blue, and gradations of light grey emphasise the sketchy nature of a living ambiance. Silver and gold touches add modern accents.
Romantic gardens, sketched natural still lifes, hand-written letters, yellowed paper, clef symbols, and blossoms appear as mementos of almost forgotten times. They combine with ultra-delicate, organic shapes to create a picturesque overall image.
The styles bring select materials such as floral embroidery, fine lace-work, and open-cut patterning harmoniously together with hints of shimmering gold and silver, crystalline structures, hoar frost effects, bubble surfaces, and cloqué. Transparency, together with back-lit and soft-focus effects, are sensitively reproduced with the stylistic resources of art. As a result, the patterns appear like intimate illusions – fleeting, moving, barely there.
Mystic Ode – Passionate and Dramatic
With its roots in the literary period of Romanticism, fairy-tale, fantasy and poetry combine in a magical and secretive decorative style. A colour palette ranging from black, basalt grey, and dark petrol to dark brown dominates the background, set off against warm gold and temperamental red.
Historical, mystic, and fairytale symbols serve as models for fanciful motifs and patterns, couture and casual combine to create a really unusual look. To the extent, for instance, that decorative objects in crystal draw their inspiration both from modern design and historical example.
In the universally extremely decorative use of materials, glitter and sparkle share space with the visibly aged: mirrors, paintings, and photographs of long-gone former times, paintwork marked by the years, and delicate patination. Alongside all this are modern features, to be found in the combination of glass, sequins, and beadwork with everyday materials such as denim.
Weird Diary – Independent and Audacious
“Anything other than run of the mill!” Inspired by currents in contemporary art – from abstract to street art – the wit and individuality of this decorative style take us by surprise.
Typical of the style are the unusual colour combinations from a palette of fresh orange, creamy nougat, delicate pink, cool mint, and dark purple. Neutral tones, such as anthracite and a light flannel grey mitigate the unusual intensity of colour.
Brushstrokes, spray effects, and graffiti serve as inspirations for structure and patterning. Motifs – mostly cartoon-like figures with bold outlines – create their effects through their unconventional placing. Surfaces are sprinkled, flecked, marbled, or covered in lively multicoloured effects. Materials like laminate and PVC appear wild, colourful, and explosive. Ornate painting, embroidery, stickers, letters, and digital printing add a contemporary touch.
Inventive Hymn – Elegant and Skilful
The young design avant-garde has its focus set in traditional materials, shapes, craft techniques, and manufacturing processes both from their own heritage and from foreign cultures. The style scenario identified as ‘Inventive Hymn’ offers a sophisticated mix of traditional and modern features. It provides surprising tactile experiences – accompanied by a naturally subdued colour palette of wool white, sisal, slate, barolo, petrol, and mustard and including grey-green.
Alongside the traditional craft skills, it is, above all, the world of fashion and textiles that gives the major impetus for the creative use of materials. This is clearly evidenced in the striking woven patterns, floral structures, fringes, and shaggy visual effects. Dissonant items, such as, for instance, deliberate irregularities, are intentional and thus become a trademark of the style.
In the multifarious patterns and designs, motifs with origins in ethnic cultures and folklore come up against abstract or geometrical patterning. These are presented on other high-quality materials, including ceramics, wood, metal. Complex experimental mixes of shapes, materials, or patterns reflect the fusion of cultures and become the designer’s individual signature.
Photo: Frankfurt Messe
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