August 2015 / A Progressive Mastery of Materials


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.

There is an impressive amount of research and development going into the intensifying field of innovative materials across industries. Have you ever considered ceramic derived from crab shells, plastic made from coconut fibers, fabric conceived from stone, or even seating comprised of hundreds of broken eggshells and veneer born from banana peels? Learn more about sustainable alternatives to leather and see the trends for leather, skin, and suede with five color stories and directions for A/W 2016-17. Get inspired with the August edition!

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REPORTING TO INSPIRE,
Jennifer Castoldi,
Chief Creative Director

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Features and Articles

Jennifer's August Amusings

London — The Trendease Team has been out and about collecting data on material innovations and sustainable resources. In this issue of Trendease we present a number of novel concepts ripe for developing further as well as market-ready products and materials. In this gallery see works from the exhibition ‘Fabric of the City’ where East London contemporary textile designers continued the legacy of the Huguenot Weavers.

Crab Shell Ceramics? Banana Peel Veneer?

Bangkok — Partnering with TIFF these select companies have put forward some materials that ought to give us plenty of food for thought. What is going on here?! Crab shell ceramics? Banana peel veneer? Eggshell seating? Coconut fiber plastics? There are even poufs and lighting created from medical waste. With tons and tons of waste thrown out after the production process somebody must come to the rescue. Find our heroes here.

Fabric from Rock & Other True Stories

Frankfurt — The chapters of this story include: ‘Rock on!’ - Yes, textiles can be made from rock, believe it or not. ‘It Will Have You in Stitches’ - The latest embroidery technology has surpassed Grandma’s mastery. ‘Princess and the Pea’ - Can you feel the pea under all of those beautifully quilted mattresses and duvets? ‘Time to Celebrate’ - Pop the cork from that bottle of champagne and celebrate its diverse applications.

Pinackpuck finishing: an example of Piñatex versatility

From Motif to Alternative Material

Barcelona / London — We have seen collections for 2015 and 2016 ripe with pineapple motifs. Now this juicy fruit is part of an even bigger movement: alternative materials. Sure we have seen pineapple fibers as textiles before, but now this freshly launched material featured here within is giving leather a run for its money. Enjoy a look at some of the first products conceived using this leather alternative. What could you do with the material?

Specialists of crocodile leather, like Italven, use patina and buffing effects to embellish their skins, which are very much in demand in these nuanced finishes.

Changing States A/W 16-17

Paris — Première Vision Leather (formerly known as Le Cuir à Paris) has unveiled a preview of what visitors can expect in the A.16-W.17 trend area during the September 2015 show. In Changing States one can find hybrid materials in evolution, forgotten in a forest, buried under soft earth; refined erosion, printed wear and tear; corrosion, oxidation; porous textures, irregular textures, undefined blemishes. See the color story and examples here.

An Invisible World A/W 16-17

Paris — They exclaim: Don’t try, just do it! Let go of cynicism, gloominess, lethargy, introspection, apathy and the blues and let yourself be dazzled. Nature contaminates materials and seeks out new connections. Natural and technical, natural and synthetic in symbiosis. Organic textures. Mathematical imperfections. Networks, circuits, honeycombs. Unexpected cut-outs. Multi-layers. Spores of mushrooms, leaf veins, slivers of wood. Bark surfaces. Rubbed, nubucked surfaces.

Ejaz Tanning Company weaves narrow strips of lamb leather into an incredibly soft tartan

A Taste for Secrets A/W 16-17

Paris — In ‘A Taste for Secrets’ subscribers will find hues that are nocturna,l dazzling, dark and mysterious colors: sparkly orange, clerical purple, magical green, night grey, thick chocolate, worrying black. Materials are heavy leathers and textiles: velvets, brocades, tapestries, Cordoba leather. Learn more about this direction’s palette and material inspirations within.

Tari uses a latex glue that is guaranteed not to run to affix narrow bands of dipped entrefino onto a canvas backing.

An Elegy to Idleness A/W 16-17

Paris — “Cultivate slowness, dare to be idle, refuse the tyranny of time and the excesses of speed, create new places dedicated to inaction, delight in frugality, feed on fragility, gently start to listen to others, seek out the human behind the object of desire, find the equation for the champagne bubbles, reinvent the siesta and the art-of-doing-nothing...”

Officina delle Pelli plunges the hide into an astringent bath which gives leather a more realistic relief, before skilled hands paint on the petals.

The New Professions A/W 16-17

Paris — Who is the sculptor of absence, the digital poet, the sound colorist, the fashion technologist? Find out in New Professions. The color story and the material influences are all here to be explored before visiting the fair to see everything up close and in person in September at Première Vision Leather. Lacquered patents? Iridescent metallics? Heavy felts? Peachy textures? We shall see…

Fishnet Series

NEWSLETTER #521 - Material Manipulation

Brooklyn — Continuing on with our material inspirations this month, we bring you some experimental furnishings found in Brooklyn, New York. Subscribers can take a seat a wrap their heads around this newness including transformed cork with plant and flowers, steel mesh, denim, and metallic textiles.

Mysterious marbling

NEWSLETTER #522 - A Copenhagen Roundup

Copenhagen — In sync with this month’s progressive mastery of materials theme, we are delighted to report on some of the head turners we found at the northmodern show in Copenhagen, Denmark—a kind of Ambiente meets (the good part of) Maison&Objet. Fifty five images will get our subscribers in an inspired frame of mind when exploring this gallery of product shots.

Ancient Age Series, by Haäm

NEWSLETTER #523 - Maison&Objet Trends

Paris — For the September 2015 edition of Maison&Objet Paris there will be some changes to the show floor, including the trend area that will now take place as the Inspirations Forum in a new structure between Halls 6, 7, and 8. Alongside this revamped trend area visitors will discover a pop-up bookstore and conference space. “Inspiration, respiration, aspiration” they say. The next edition will fall beneath the trend heading “Precious”.

Stella Hexagon: When illuminated, its half-mirrored glass diffuser reveals a series of nested geometric shapes.

NEWSLETTER #524 - Design with Material Sense

New York — Here we share a vast selection of awe-inspiring use of materials the Trendease Team found on a journey through New York City, The Big Apple. Subscribers can indulge in over 70 images of hot lighting, impressive accessories, unique printing, wallcoverings you cannot wait to hang, furniture you never knew you wanted, and ceramics that a table seems incomplete without.