TREND FORECASTING - RESET

Guest Speaker, Victoria Redshaw, Trend Forecaster at Scarlette Opus shares her views on looking ahead in design, an excerpt from the Decor + Design Show, Melbourne 2021

TREND 3 - RESET

Post pandemic, we look back to see what happened.

We need to make decisions for the wellbeing of people and the planet. We see the importance of living in harmony with nature and have an awareness of vulnerability of the environment at large.

Just as we need to recover, the whole eco system needs to recover. We have recently seen the reduced pollution and clearer waterways in living a simpler life.

So, how do we meet climate change targets for the 2030 deadline?

We work together at a community/international level to ensure a greener, cleaner, healthier, future;

A green economy, green technology;

China and India take greater steps for single use plastics;

Holland once in a decade Floriade 2022 has a growing green cities theme;

France introduce sustainability law that all new public buildings use at least 50% natural materials;

100 urban farms are created across France with aim to become carbon neutral.

We must live, design and manufacture in a new way, with 8 billion people in 2022, each consuming energy, limited resources, food, and water. Designers and manufacturers will be urged to take Hippocratic type oath to commit to do no harm to the environment at design and development stage of product conception and production.

We will adapting circularity re-using materials, waste materials and bi-products - a complete 180 from the usual process. Transforming rather than taking, committing to repair, refurbish and restore.

Re-evaluating problematic materials, replacing, reusing, and recycling parts.

Natural colorants, natural materials, locally sourced. Results are deeply considered.

A gentle look and feel as we seek to tread more lightly on the earth, protect our natural habitat and clean up our act.

WHAT THE TREND TELLS US

We don’t need to abandon elegance to be more environmentally responsible, just a more natural, less contrived, unforced, less laboured elegance. Products are genuinely beautiful and refined.

A relaxed naturalness, rawness, grittiness to draw us near. Smoothness, subtlety, grace and unpolished sleekness. Modest, settled, no fakery, looks genuine, no ornateness.

Organic features and man made innovations specifically to fascinate and humble us.

Colours

Neutrals, resolute darks, streaks of pastel, tender greens, sincere steadfast shade of blue, earthbound brown, pale mineral greys, linen tones, stone neutrals all be worked into the palette.

Trio of greens - hazy green, dark kelp forest green, salt wash green, convey organic naturalness, regeneration, hope, and growth.

Brings a relaxed state and connects to nature on a subconscious level. A desire to bath in nature's beauty. A natural elegance.

Colours provide depth and warmth.

Patterns

Prints and patterns of braided rivers and foliage prints, wild grasses, plants, foliage and flowers.

Complex forms founds in nature. Off-cut materials, waste and residual fabrics transformed to imperfect products - just as life is not perfect.

Materials

Recycled and handprinted textiles, organic cotton, free of chemicals. Hemp, eco linen.

Minimal impact on the earth. Sincere and resolute beauty of nature.

Recycling, reduce, reclaim, up-cycling, offcuts, waste materials, repair and re-use materials.

Eco printing, hammering and pounding methods extracting natural dyes on to fabrics.

Use water based inks, organic based certified inks to prevent from entering waterways.

Reduce carbon emissions in production.

Image Courtesy of Victoria Redshaw's Trend Forecasting Seminar for Decor + Design Show, Melbourne 2021