Textiles in its best form aims for the status of art. And merits it.
MoOD – read as Meet only Original Designs – is the first and most authentic international trade fair for upholstery, window- and wall coverings and is on again this year in Brussels Sep 14-16. Read here what they have to say about the theme of Textiles this year.
The theming of the MoOD Textiles have reflected the grandeur of a culture since time immemorial. But in recent decades, textiles have seemed to have lost their status. The pace at which our industrialised world has changed has left little room for a proper grasp of this slow craft. The economic empires were primarily focused on efficient production processes and large volumes. The architects no longer understood textiles and, inversely, decorators had little affinity with architecture.
Globalisation was also accompanied with a stifling overabundance that resulted in a never-before-seen fragmentation of the market. Slowly we will rise from the middle ages of textiles, however. The renaissance is on the verge now that more and more renowned designers are venturing into wall coverings or textiles. We can say without hesitation that textiles in its best form aims for the status of art. And merits it.
Textiles have reflected the grandeur of a culture since time immemorial. But in recent decades, textiles have seemed to have lost their status. The pace at which our industrialised world has changed has left little room for a proper grasp of this slow craft. The economic empires were primarily focused on efficient production processes and large volumes. The architects no longer understood textiles and, inversely, decorators had little affinity with architecture.
Globalisation was also accompanied with a stifling overabundance that resulted in a never-before-seen fragmentation of the market. Slowly we will rise from the middle ages of textiles, however. The renaissance is on the verge now that more and more renowned designers are venturing into wall coverings or textiles. We can say without hesitation that textiles in its best form aims for the status of art. And merits it.
‘KISS’ and ‘Memento Mori’ give the freedom of choice
In its trend prognosis for 2011/2012, MoOD proposes two themes that are diametrically opposed: KISS and MEMENTO MORI. They illuminate two types of living: one modern, the other classical. It is everyone’s dream to live in both. Interior concepts that embrace this opposition oblige you to make a choice. You are in favour or against. But that restriction also includes a certain freedom. The freedom f.i. to create new combinations.
KISS is the young rebel, modern through and through but full of renaissance. You should read KISS as ‘Keep It Simple SMART’, as the aha moment one experiences with an obvious inventiveness. With colour accents and contemporary mashups, KISS drives away obedience and reintroduces wonder. But KISS also represents the metaphorical “kiss of love”. The love for textile whose status of honour as an artisanal craft must be reinstated.
KISS is brimming with little experiments and thus sometimes overshadows the purely technical innovations. KISS is incalculable: much in the way of textiles and then again little, pleated in layers or stretched like a second skin around furniture. Brazen colours intrude brutally into the home concept, declaring: here I am!
With ‘Memento Mori’ the antiques placed a stamp on life: remember that you are mortal, enjoy today. You live here and now. Memento mori has a close affinity with another Latin theme, carpe diem (seize the day). Memento Mori is an unbridled explosion of exuberant, elite, manneristic creations, with heavy fabrics and dramatic volumes full of variegation in surface and shine. They are often inspired by the legacy of the important ancient cultures and introduce a more male-looking interior. But it is a type of luxury that is of this world. ‘Luxury’ as we knew it was lacking in personality. Textiles can fill this void like nothing else. You can read more about MoOD here