Sep 24, 2013

Trends at Ambiente 2014: Four Trend Scenarios, Four Staged Displays

Idiosyncratic, select, original and functional – that is how the consumer goods trends appear for 2014. The four trend scenarios “stunning temper”, “subtle spirit”, “serene nature” and “striking mind” will be presented in the Trend Show at Ambiente in Frankfurt am Main from 7 to 11 February 2014. There is also a Trend Brochure giving details of the current trends in advance as they affect dining, gourmet pleasures, living, furnishing, decorating and giving. The trends for 2014 have again been defined by a trend bureau named Stilbüro bora.herke.palmisano, who have also staged the Trend Show, using products by Ambiente exhibitors.

When it comes to the trends for the 2014 season, the message is sovereign composure. Designers and product developers will set to work in the coming year with the minimum of fuss and a great deal of enthusiasm for experimentation – relying, at the same time, on traditional craftsmanship, unconventional materials, an intense colour palette and a staggering degree of multi-functionality. The four scenarios present typical overall trends for 2014 and give ideas for the most popular colours, shapes, materials and patterns. This is already the seventh time that design consultants bora.herke.palmisano have created the Trend Show as part of world’s most important consumer goods fair, Ambiente. Their starting point is provided by the new products of over 4,700 Ambiente exhibitors. From the extensive range on offer, the trend consultants put together four trend scenarios: in doing so, they take their cue from current tendencies in fashion, design, art and architecture.

“The difficult thing is to distil out the major trends and currents from the plethora of new products that burst onto the market year after year. The Ambiente Trends perform this task for us every year – they are, as it were, a compass and a practical help which shows the sector the way forward in terms of current and potential developments and helps us find our way around them,” says Nicolette Naumann, Vice President Ambiente and Tendence.

Idiosyncratic: Stunning Temper

This fanciful style gives all that is quirky and wonderful the opportunity to express itself. The cheerful colour palette for “stunning temper” encompasses reseda green, mandarin orange, linden green, red and raspberry colours, petrol, light grey and apricot. The colours from photo-realistic patterns find themselves abstracted from the originals, decorations are arranged extravagantly and there is an almost surreal experimentation with materials and forms. Surprise is what determines the choice of materials, the pattern and the way they are used. Knitting meets plastic, houndstooth meets dots, powerful patterns meet relief. Traditional painting techniques emphasise the grain of wood and create dynamic patterns with intense colouring. Blooms and blossom, together with expressive arrangements of plants, round off the unusual stylistic concept of this idiosyncratic trend scenario.

Select: Subtle Spirit

In its calm restraint, “subtle spirit” creates a particularly delicate and select aesthetic. Harmony is what determines interior design – comfort and convenience, warmth and intimacy are important, materials and craftsmanship meet the highest possible standards. Jade, mauve and matt gold accentuate the delicate interplay of colours between midnight-blue, pine-green and aubergine. To go with this, there are folds and reliefs, copper and bast surface effects, shimmering golden leather and delicate textiles such as silk and fine, loosely woven fabrics. Japanese-inspired patterns and shapes appear in contemporary interpretations.

Original: Serene Nature

Natural materials, simple shapes and tastefully unostentatious furniture and accessories emphasise the unobtrusive and primordial chic of “serene nature”. The pastel colourways ensure a lightness of touch and range from taupe, violet, peach and skin tones to grey, sand, white and black. Designs with natural stone, wood and innovative uses of cork create a flowing transition from inside to outside – never rustic, always soigné and elegant. Purist shapes for furniture and accessories for the home display a wide variety of wooden surfaces and delicately coloured leathers. Textiles in linen and cotton mixtures give gentle movement and flowing structure.

Functional: Striking Mind

Strong colours and stark lines characterise “striking mind”. Set against black, white, slate and tobacco, chrome, blue and intense yellows create powerful accents. Linear patterns are becoming sparse, but are always used to provide contrast. The style is down-to-earth, reductionist, geometrical, with sharply delineated contours preferred. The interplay of light and dark emphasises the graphic qualities of three-dimensional objects. Re-used classics together with strictly new designs provide unmistakeable signals here. The focus revolves consistently around perfect functionality. Design is avowedly committed to the functional nature of metal, glass, wood and plastic.

Exclusive lectures on current trends at Ambiente.

An impressive presentation in Galleria 1 at Ambiente will put flesh on the bones of the trends identified for the coming season. And the lectures provide a perfect complement to the displays. Design consultants bora.herke.palmisano will provide practical details of the up-coming trends with market-specific information and inspirational pictorial material every day at 12 noon and 3:00 p.m. in room Symmetrie 2, Hall 8.1.

Stilbüro bora.herke.palmisano

Stilbüro bora.herke.palmisano are known for their accurate forecasts of coming trends in the consumer-goods sector and are much in demand throughout the world. Annetta Palmisano, Claudia Herke and Cem Bora use their finely developed design sense and their enormous experience to constantly analyse the worldwide currents in fashion, design, art and architecture. For Ambiente they then give expression to these trends, based on their observations, and present them in a memorable Trend Show.

Ambiente, the leading international trade fair

Ambiente is the leading international trade fair for products for the table, kitchen, household, giving and decorating, as well as for home and furnishing accessories. Ambiente is an event distinguished by superlatives and unrivalled worldwide thanks to its unique horizontal and vertical range of products. For five days at the beginning of the business year, more than 4,700 exhibitors showed what consumers will be able to see in shops around the globe this year and the coming year. With 140,000 trade buyers from 140 countries in 2013, the world’s leading consumer-goods fair also offers a wide variety of events, promotional programmes for young people, trend presentations and awards ceremonies.

Note for journalists

The Trend Book, together with collages of individual trend scenarios in print-quality format, can be obtained from the Ambiente Press Team. You will find further information and high-resolution photographs of Ambiente on the internet at: www.ambiente.messefrankfurt.com/journalists.

Follow Ambiente on Twitter with hashtag #Ambiente14: www.twitter.com/ambiente

Background information on Messe Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt is one of the world’s leading trade fair organiser, with 536.9 million euros in sales and 1,833 employees. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries and approx. 50 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events “made by Messe Frankfurt” take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2012, Messe Frankfurt organised 109 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany.

Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Centre. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent.

For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com