Following Style Trends in a New Market
Style trends are traveling faster and growing larger than ever before thanks to social media and a competitive global online market. As an interior designer I used to watch style trends and now I chase them. So how do you keep up with what is fresh and hip in fashion and design when trends come and go so fast? You avoid being trendy and stay on trend.
Fashion trend-setter and interior designer, Bex Hale says “Purchase your key pieces in a timeless style and have fun with accents from the latest trends.” She continues, “It’s a lot easier to toss out last season’s chevron patterned scarf than it is to rework your walls plastered in chevron wallpaper.” Understanding how to incorporate a trend is as important as recognizing the trend. And striking a balance between timeless and timely is key to being on-trend without being simply trendy. It also makes for a more interesting room.
At LuxeRED we are vigilantly watching style and design trends. We shop markets across the globe identifying trends and predicting which ones will follow. One of the largest purchasing trends we’ve identified involves what we refer to as “merchandise with meaning.”
Trudi Spring, psychologist and color theorist says, “With this rampant technological influx we want to feel significant.We need to have meaningful connections to our environment; be it an attachment to a table we got while vacationing or an arrangement we created with branches from the yard.” Basically, with everything available to us with the click of a button, it’s not enough to have acquired furniture. That’s expected. We want more; we want a story behind the objects that fill our homes. That is why the trend of matching furniture sets has long been out of vogue and mismatched pieces culled together are more appealing.
The 2014 color of the year, PANTONE 18-3224 Radiant Orchid, a captivating, enigmatic purple, speaks to our cultural current state of mind. LeatriceEiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute® says "An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today's society."
LuxeREDTrend Watch 2014:
1. Anything dipped in gold or gold leafed
2. Anything DIY or bought from an individual with a story. (Etsy.com)
3. The David Hicks inspired hexagon pattern
4. Herringbone is the new Chevron
5. Bold, graphic wallpaper (it’s back and with a vengeance! If you haven’t indulged, get to it before you’re totally out of style)
6. Mixed metals. Infuse gold, brass and copper into your existing scheme
7. Layer, layer, layer. Rugs, patterns, textures and styles for a rich, eclectic look