Today’s textiles are in touch with today’s world, where uncertainty and unexpected occurrences shape our behavior—and according to two expert art directors, trends in the material market have mimicked constant global change.
At the opening day of Texworld USA at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Monday, Texworld Art Directors Louis Gérin and Grégory Lamaud showcased Spring/Summer 2016 textile trends focused on the idea of “Presence” or experiencing the current moment and being influenced by it.
Hailing from France, the directors opened their trend presentation by mentioning the current JeSuisCharlie movement and how in mere moments, the world was tapped in and showing support. The idea, Gérin said, is to experience the “density of the moment,” a notion reflected in the directors’ visions for color, textures and patterns for the coming spring season.
The first trend, called Subversive Analogy, is the concept that the icon is dead, Gérin said.
As Lamaud noted, referencing the Texworld USA trend guide, “The experiment is no longer a means, but the noblest goal, that of a time aware that it has nothing else to do but live and try. We have left all paths and are tracing a new one.”
Gérin added, “We have to find a new way to express the same idea, find an equivalent of what we don’t like, strike a balance between the present and the future.”
Colors in this trend are delicate with a fog-like grey called Sandy Density, a bright bubble gum pink called Appeased Alarm, a rich blue called Confused Constellation and Evanescent Reflections, a soft, almost translucent blue representing the idea that we want to go forward and change, Gérin said.
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“The are dense, they are shaded, but they are there, they are present,” Gérin said.
Geometric patterns are apparent as are looks that are a mix between technical and handcrafted.
Fabrics patterns are more refined though random, with black and white prints heavily represented, a houndstooth meets plaid pattern and fine pleats that appear as stripes as the surface color differs from the between pleat color. Water color effects are present in prints and etched cutout fabrics offer a different type of dimension.
In the Subtle Amorphia trend, the idea of presence is further emphasized as designs try to catch the vivacity of a moment, Gérin explained.
“Everything is created, as if resulting from nothing, at every moment and is put out immediately to make way for a new birth,” Lamaud said.
Here, things are not fixed, they can be moved and everything is coherent.
The color palette is soft and sweet with a pale pink called Whizzing Marshmallow and a subdued aqua called Sweetened Brew as well as more acid tones like a near-lime called Soapy Acid and a yellow called Sour Radiation.
Referring to the palette, Gérin said, “It is pleasant it is nice, it makes us feel like a child who is playing new games.”
Patterns have liquid aspects, almost as if melting together, and nothing is clear or defined.
Fabrics are light and bright with water-like looks, subtle metallics and more etched effects and geometric laser cuts on neoprene fibers. Subdued floral prints provide a backdrop to patterns woven in the foreground.
Alter Echo, according to Gérin, reflects the point the market is in today: “Are we going to go in a full synthetic world or a full natural world?” he posed.
In this trend, light is pertinent and echoing what exists in nature is evident.
“We project our being on our environment, and the latter, as the sole interlocutor, reflects our own desires in an anthropomorphic dialogue,” Lamaud read.
The color palette is strong and sensitive to alarm the mind, Gérin explained.
“Blue is everywhere,” he said. “It’s the water, the sky, the air we breathe.” And as a result, blue is heavily evident in the palette with a deep version called Stellar Propagation, a grayish tone called Venous Beam and a bright blue labeled Scarabaeid Splendor.
Skin tones are also present because, according to Gérin, “Flesh color is everywhere in nature, but mechanical aspects are becoming more human.”
Fabrics in this trend are unique with a combo stripe and nep pattern, dainty plaids and window pane prints, bubble effects and tie-dye meets batik fabrics. Patterns are inconsistent a la Jackson Pollock and even sometimes represented as burnouts—multiple effects in one fabric are evident.
The last of the trends, Inescapable Hazards, is all about “how time is playing on us and how we can also play on time,” Gérin said.
“As we cannot leave today, we attract tomorrow,” Lamaud noted. “Precipitating erosion, the inescapable in order to finally perceive this future that we are denied.”
Prints are superimposed together, rough and old become beautiful and the time warp becomes the added value.
“It’s a new way to consider time and the use of things as a new beauty,” Gérin said.
Colors in the trend are shaded and a mix between minerals and “alive tones.” Blues, pinks and greys make up most of the palette and all are muted and mellow like the soft periwinkle Clear-Sightedness, the muted rose Mellow Fog, a light grey Estimated Dust and a darker grey Impatient Chaos.
Prints channel art with brushstroke effects, subtle sparkles are present in athletic wear fabrics, color blocking is happening within the fabric and geometric pyramid patterns are raised for a 3D textured effect.