12/06
Proposte 2007: world preview of furnishing fabrics and curtains

The emblematic image of Proposte 2007.
Francesca Ghermandi has designed the halls of the Villa Erba exhibition centre surrounded by the park: a whirlwind of fabrics and curtains covers the sky entirely.
The colours used are exceptionally bright and they will remain the same on the page of the advertising campaign, while on other communication products they will purposely be shaded, made evanescent. Proposte, by this simple artifice, highlights its all-around features and the wealth of the textiles on display: never before has an exhibition presented such a versatile and complete range.
Prevailing colours - orange, fuchsia, green, light blue - will be found again in clothing textiles for the upcoming seasons as a sort of well-known contamination of both sectors.
The reproduction of Villa Erba is also emblematic of the organisers’ determination to remain loyal to this enchanting setting and give full marks to the aristocracy of quality in place of a wideranging display.

Proposte 2007 looks forward to the future.
What will be the upcoming future of human society and, above all, life styles?
The final use, application (sofa, window, etc.) and type of setting/furnishing should be taken into account when designing a textile product. Up until a few years ago, and even today, each apartment could be designed and planned individually but in the future buildings as a whole will have an impact on living styles. This places emphasis on contemporary architectures. At the same time, construction of new buildings has never been so fast. In Dubai, the Rotating Tower designed by the Florence-based studio of David Fisher is under construction. Thirty-three floors assigned for a hotel and twenty-six for private apartments. Each floor will be self-revolving. The shape of the building will be continuously modified by the rotation while floor motion will generate electric power. The whole building has been sold in a matter of 24 hours.
What kind of textiles should be designed for similar residences which have been built over the last decade?

New buildings focus on open spaces, transparency. Modelling such spaces means telling, in other words revealing new life styles with new applications with respect to interior design. Based on innovative architectures, interiors will be fitted with unprecedented furnishing elements such as all-glass kitchens and modern, more technological decorations.

Time has come for the European producers exhibiting at Proposte to take the long view. Men and women are ever more receptive to motivating trends, they are often on the go, and they will hardly appreciate living room furniture and curtains lasting forever. They will rather strive for possessing emotional goods and values continuously mutating or at least restylable.

Super-textiles.
In the fashion industry it is customary to pass from opulent baroque supply to a streamlined and clean-cut presentation over the next period. This alternation also applies to the furnishing industry. This is the reason why during Proposte our designers will monitor the trends set by the European textile producers.
Firmly maintaining the decoration quality, which is the distinguishing key-factor of our world preview, exhibitors are demanded to further improve and optimise their products with respect to tear and rub resistance, increased lightness, resilience, thermal capacity. Failure to do so, could mean losing the high-end market segment. Likewise, it will be impossible to neglect safe textiles that are demanded for theatres, museums, hotels, ships, schools, large- and small-sized companies by the contract industry.

European manufacture is of paramount importance.
Decline forecasts for European textile production have revealed to be insubstantial and rash, but have also proven to be accurate in companies which have ignored innovation causing discomfort and regression.
After years of economic crises from 2001 to 2005, the European manufacturing system in general and the textile industry in particular are still in force: as demonstrated by Italian ISTAT figures, exports did not decrease.
Modern European manufacturers who are present at Proposte play a vital and progressive role because almost all the exhibitors have decided to improve and back their production cycle with advanced organizational systems and qualified personnel with new potentials and, above all, have invested immense resources in Research & Development.

+ info: Proposte