International Market Centers (IMC) announced that its proprietary TrendWatch program will showcase three directional trends – Mélange, Mixtape and Resilience & Resolve – for Spring 2021 High Point Market, June 5 – June 9, 2021. IMC exhibitors are invited to submit their new or best-selling furniture and home décor products for consideration by Wednesday, April 7, 2021.
“IMC is pleased to offer this preview of colors, patterns and motifs as part of our Spring Market offerings,” said Dorothy Belshaw, IMC’s chief customer and marketing officer. “In a time where it’s more important than ever for buyers and suppliers to be in-the-know about the leading product trends, TrendWatch offers timely and relevant information that will impact consumers’ product preferences moving forward.”
TrendWatch is curated by 25-year magazine editor and home furnishings trends forecaster Julie Smith Vincenti of Nine Muses Media. The trends, which are influenced by consumer insights and creative intelligence from the interiors, fashion and consumer product arenas, will be explored through a pre-market webinar, an at-market trend vignette and in a digital flipbook. A brief description of each trend follows.
Mélange
Designers and skillful home enthusiasts confidently mix unpredictable styles, colors and patterns to create signature interiors. It’s home curation that surprises and inspires; new examples are like a 20th Century master class. Enter Mélange, a home furnishings mix in a range that draws from Brutalism and Abstract Expressionism to Postmodernism and even Art Deco. Look for rounded forms and silhouettes, especially in upholstery and casegoods; fluidity; sketched lines (think: crosshatch, stippled dots, speckles and dashes); bas relief surfaces; elegant patterns; romantic flourishes; and crowd-pleasing accents that create visual harmony, livable elegance and joy.
Mixtape
TrendWatch is totally tuned in to 1980s redux, and Mixtape epitomizes the vibe. Dubbed “art for and by the masses,” mixtapes celebrated individualism and creativity. In this eponymous presentation, 80s-era icons and influences are synthesized together… expect neon lights that radiate rad; black and white pairings that pop; new wave compositions; patterns as catchy as hip-hop beats; and — wham! —lively pastels.
Resilience & Resolve
Purples and purple-cast neutrals — from lilac, thistle and African violet to plum, mulberry and fig — are leaders in Resilience & Resolve, TrendWatch’s timely color showcase for 2021. There’s plenty of prose to describe purple’s significance: introspection, compromise, intuition, spirituality, luxury, grandeur, awakening, harmony. TrendWatch examines purple’s many facets this season and, in the process, gives context to current colors of the year.
“The post-pandemic path to recovery and certainty is in view, and the seasons ahead will be defined by growth, reinvention and exploration,” explains Smith Vincenti. “In home furnishings, color will be first to illustrate these moods and priorities. This is why purple — a hue with many, many connotations — headlines our Resilience & Resolve showcase. Designers and home design enthusiasts are still confidently mixing diverse styles and patterns — we’ll show new techniques in Mélange. Lastly, this season’s Mixtape nods to an ’80s-era art form that was as much about self-expression, personality, and artistry, as it was about curated music.”
To be considered for TrendWatch, exhibitors must submit digital imagery (measuring at least 5”x7” at 300 dpi) and a completed product description form by April 7. For submission instructions and additional details about the program, click here. IMC exhibitors TrendWatch participation is offered exclusively to IMC High Point exhibitors.
