The Trend Tracker
The best fashion and trend information from the home furnishings world.
Anticipating Maison
Advance information has it that despite Europe's economic woes, Maison & Objet is ready for its close-up. Most striking are the show's continuing and evolving efforts to make this the most complete showcase for all disciplines of living by embracing, integrating and blending all of what impacts our daily lives now - and who and what is seeding our future. What started little more than a decade ago... Read More
Comments (7)It's Not About the Stuff
"It's Not About the Stuff." That was the provocative message delivered to an industry audience by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, founder of Apartment Therapy, at an early breakfast meeting during High Point Market last week. Maxwell founded Apartment Therapy in 2004 after realizing through blogging just how much consumers needed a helping hand and no-nonsense personal advice when remodeling an... Read More
Comments (3)Dessert Modern blooms in High Point
A style movement that has been steadily developing over the last two to three seasons, thanks to Ralph Lauren now has a name: Desert Modern.As seen at the High Point Market, it is rustic, quite substantial in scale, expressed in rough hewn woods with lots of grain action and boxy modern in shape. Textiles draw on textures and leathers for emphasis, and accessorization is spare.The collection is ga... Read More
Comments (4)French Twist
The Made in the USA campaign at this week's High Point Market notwithstanding, this market is seeing a major revival of French furniture, historically the most popular style in America. What's different this time around is that these new pieces have none of the dead generic quality of mummified reproductions but are energetic take-offs and reinterpretations of a certain bourgeois genre.In other wo... Read More
Comments (2)From Maison to Maison
It's never been easier to draw comparisons between High Point, now in full swing here, and Maison & Objet, which closed in Paris just a month ago. The distinction is especially clear in the home textiles on display here this week, which are well diversified in style, color and texture - the latter having been largely absent from the Paris show. Suppliers, such as Valdese, Circa 1810 (a div. of Val... Read More
Comments (1)Hot in High Point
First the good news: The Market opened on Saturday here to enthusiastic crowds, hungry for "fresh meat," new looks and extended product lines. All are offered in abundance. Here are a few highlights having emerged in just the last two days: Ten must haves for seekers of trend-right and innovative merchandise: Satin - Shine and gloss are back in many collections, imparting a glamorous glo... Read More
Comments (0)A last look at Maison & Objet
Looking back at this month's show, one of its less visible but valuable aspects goes beyond product and interior design exhibits - and that's special services provided for M&O visitors to enrich their fair experience.First, there is the Inspiration Trend Book published each season. It can either be purchased on site or be ordered even after the show from M&O's website. This month, the overall umbr... Read More
Comments (0)Two Views of Living
Maison & Objet closed on a less than exuberant note. Although attendance seemed to be heavier than at any other time I can remember, what was on view was not riveting or as stimulating as in previous seasons. While it makes sense that suppliers were holding back given the economic uncertainties - which don't bode well for the immediate future for anyone in the Euro-zone - there seemed to be more t... Read More
Comments (3)Maison & Objet - The Sporting Life
Each season, the organizers of SAFI commission - some of the most influential designers and thinkers of our time - project their concepts of what they foresee for the future onto the stage at Maison & Objet. I must admit that I approach those presentations with caution, if only because many times their execution falls short of the concept headlines. However, there is one - among roughly a half doz... Read More
Comments (1)2nd Day at Maison & Objet - SALVATION!
What a difference a day makes! Thanks to textiles, I feel whole again after my disappointments on opening day. Home textiles, the ready-made kind, i.e. bed, bath and table linens, are always an important category here. And while the September show is not textile-centric - that happens during the show's January when all of the top to-the-trade decorating houses show their latest and greatest - the... Read More
Comments (8)Opening Day at Maison & Objet
I didn't think that I would ever have to say this, but opening day for me was a resounding dud. At least Hall 5 was - usually a reliable harbinger of new style and color directions. This is the hall that features complete high-end interiors, making it usually easy to get a quick overview of what's moving and shaking - trends that are later echoed in seven other halls that are more product-specific... Read More
Comments (0)Textiles Designers Take Note
If you are in Paris for Maison & Objet don't miss the retrospective of fashion icon Hussein Chalayan at the Musee des Arts et Decoratifs, a branch of the Louvre on Rue Rivoli. Seems that every September, the Musee - which assimilated the previously separate Textile Museum - surprises with a special show highlighting one of fashion's greats, always an eye opener demonstrating ground-breaking ideas... Read More
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