Commonwealth Debuts Voiles

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/14/2008 12:00:00 AM

Montreal —

Voile has been around for awhile, but at this week's New York Home Fashions Market, Commonwealth Home Fashions hopes to reposition it as something younger consumers can make part of their lifestyle.

"Voile is a football," said Barry Goodman, vp of national accounts. "We're trying to re-energize voile, give it a better handle, appeal to a younger customer."

Commonwealth's new line of Rhapsody Voile curtains aims to combine the romance and elegance of sheer voile with contemporary colors. "Our voile is a dense weave, which gives it a more luxurious look and feel and results in more even light diffusion," said Goodman. Packaging will be "a little bit more funky," he added.

Colors will be bold and bright. Panels will have a French tuck on the bottom and some panels will have vertical banding in contrasting colors. The idea is to create voile that can stand on its own.

"Rather than the run-of-mill, $6.99 to $9.99 voile, we want to have a better quality. We're looking at the middle to better tier retailers," Goodman said.