To kickstart the new year, Forte Cloth sent a team to visit Heimtextil, the world’s leading fair for home and contract textiles and textile design. Held in Frankfurt am Main in Germany, the annual show is a creative smorgasbord of textile delights. Industry leading designers and manufacturers come together to showcase the latest production innovations and design developments. Exhibitors and installations address climate change and sustainability, upcoming trends and exciting new technology.
The Forte Cloth designers soaked up an abundance of inspiration from all areas of the show, including insightful talks, an exciting installation by Patricia Urquiola, watching a sophisticated new robot at work, and of course, getting a closer look at beautiful brand-new textiles.
“We observed romantic, soft layering of textiles for the home, with feelings of luxury and comfort. We also noticed themes of vintage Victoriana large-scale florals, soft industrial, and the Pantone color of the year, ‘Mocha Mousse’, at the forefront of several exhibitors displays, creating a warm and inviting mood.” – Laura, in-house designer
“We really enjoyed attending talks by COVER magazine – ‘Crafting Tomorrow: Key Trends Shaping the Rug Industry’ and ‘Responsible Weaving: Fairtrade and Sustainable Practices in the Rug Industry’. The comparison of ‘quiet luxury’ versus ‘statement luxury’ explored two main markets for rug design. Seeing a rise in maximalism as a home interiors trend, as well as the continued popularity of calm, timeless design in neutral shades. There was also an emphasis on artist collaborations for statement pieces in higher end markets. We are excited to see how this trend translates to the mass market as the consumer explores their own unique styles and self-expression in the home.” – Bryony, in-house designer
The team’s favorite stand-out looks from the show were organic hand-drawn botanicals in dark, moody color palettes; embellished, artisanal stitched floral looks in neutral tones and the new take on Persians with erased elements with textures and contrasting patterns coming through. To inform the team’s future designs, designer Bec put together a great list of evocative key words, here’s a little taste:
- Whimsical and romantic
- Japanese influence
- Nature meets texture
- Leaf structures
- Nature inspired palettes
- Textured and dimensional
- Color movement in line
- Scratched
- Metallic line
- Layering of handicrafts
- Pixelated stitch
Overall, the team felt the show was informative and well worth the visit – we’re already getting Heimtextil 2026 in the diaries!
Alongside the wonderful textiles on display, “among-us,” the visionary installation by renowned architect and designer Patricia Urquiola was a key highlight of Heimtextil 2025. Combining traditional craftsmanship and AI, “among-us” predicts the future of the textile industry and its need to adapt to changing technology while also looking to the expertise of previous generations. Using components by Kettal, Kvadrat, cc-tapis, Aquafil, Moroso and Cimento, Patricia created an installation that visitors could directly engage with. Patricia says the following about her fascinating work: “’among-us’ is a convivial and intuitive textile installation that continues our ongoing research into the evolving possibilities of textiles, exploring their hybrid potentials across various scales—from product design to one/off pieces, from natural and traditional yarns to recycled new ones (as wool or Econyl), from new digital watercolor printing technologies for fabrics to hanging tapestries. The title, “among-us,” is not meant literally, it’s more an idea of being together as humans in the world, it reflects the intent of the installation to celebrate hybrid new relations.”
Another highlight of January is Las Vegas Market this year proving to be a thoroughly successful event with an exciting buzz. Buyer confidence appears to be improving, with an increasingly positive outlook for 2025. Exhibitors reported strong engagement with customers and invaluable networking opportunities throughout the show. We hear that buyers are excited about new products and very optimistic for the development of design across all product categories on display at the show. A key takeaway is that buyers are currently on the lookout for items with a unique quality, as well as those with versatility and longevity.
With renewed optimism for the year ahead, the team are now working on preparing new collections to assist with all your customers’ needs for the next stage of the year. Keep ahead of the curve with us by logging into your account at www.tapistock.com regularly and lets smash 2025 together!
