heimtextil 2023: the organic fabric fair adorns frankfurt am main

There are already signs of great interest in Heimtextil – from both an exhibitor and visitor point of view. Over 2,400 exhibitors from 55 countries have already registered and an equally international audience is expected at the most important trend platform for home and contract textiles, interior design and trends. The Textile theme world connects interior architects, architects and designers, addresses the needs of hotels, the contract sector and the furnishing industry, and ranges from fabrics to carpets and wallpapers. Hardly any other material is so versatile and can be used in so many different ways. Heimtextil provides a unique opportunity to keep track of trends and developments, innovations and tendencies, offers plenty of space for networking and provides information with an extensive complementary program.

An important event module is the specialist program Interior.Architecture.Hospitality, which features lectures and guided tours on all four days of the fair. A new feature is the combination of TALKS & TOURS, where selected experts offer a guided tour on specific themes. One of them is Dorothee Maier, one of the founders of the Munich interior design studio Meierei, who asks herself the question ‘Why not life-long?’

With the Interior.Architecture.Hospitality LIBRARY, Heimtextil has already launched a material library in 2020, which can be accessed permanently online. At the fair, the textiles curated brand-new for the current edition can be experienced on-site in an exhibition where visitors can learn about their special properties. The focal points for the 2023 selection are ‘flame-retardant’, ‘sound-absorbing’, ‘light-resistant’, ‘antimicrobial’ and ‘water-repellent’, namely topics that respond in a very contemporary way to the current challenges of interior design. These new additions are entered into the digital database, which then continues to grow as a relevant research tool with each year of the fair.

Something always in focus is the topic of sustainability. This year’s Heimtextil Trends 23/24 design forecast comes from futurology agency Franklin Till. ‘Given the ecological emergency we currently find ourselves in, the textile industry has a responsibility to review its processes and change them for the better. For this reason, in this edition of Heimtextil Trends, we are taking a material-oriented approach and focusing on the sourcing, design and sustainability of materials,’ explains Marta Giralt Dunjó of Franklin Till. The experts have identified four core strategies, all derived from the circular economy as a foundation. Sustainable production, reuse and recycling are designed to ensure that the need for new raw materials is reduced.

Old or outdated items do not have to be disposed of – an opportunity for a new life is offered by the ‘Make and Remake’ trend theme identified by the experts. Used materials, but also old stock and leftovers are overprinted, overdyed or turned into new products by means of patchwork. The themes ‘From Earth’ and ‘Nature Engineered’ meanwhile deal with natural products that either consciously retain their ecological and organic aesthetics or are upgraded using the latest techniques. The fourth and last trend area focuses on the current mega theme of the circular economy. ‘Continuous’ presents closed cycles in which waste-free new materials are recycled from used products. The trends are presented as the centerpiece of the fair in the Trend Space, which not only offers a glimpse into the future of home and contract textiles, but is also perhaps the best starting and orientation point for discovering the riches presented within the extensive and thematically dense fair halls.