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HIGH POINT — Fabric suppliers are utilizing materials, pricing and platforms to introduce new product for summer Showtime.
Sluggish sales in some sectors are challenging the furniture industry to find new ways of attracting consumers to stores and a retail category that continues to compete with technology products for discretionary income.
In response, textile manufacturers are bringing introductions that reference consumer lifestyle preferences, as well as various initiatives designed to enhance product marketing strategies.
Influences & aesthetics
“Appealing to broader segments of the market has never been more important than it is today,” said Mike Shelton, president and CEO of Valdese Weavers. “Our continued diversification from a stylistic standpoint allows us to reach customers in numerous categories and the range of our product line stretches broader than most.”
Valdese Weavers is introducing approximately 300 new fabrics at Showtime, and Laura Levinson, vice president, said the design categories represented include Rustic, Mid-Century, Hollywood Glamour, Global, Tribal, Tropical and Farmhouse Casual.
“We see trends evolving and not rapidly changing,” Levinson said. “We use trends as blocks and continue to add new looks each season. Interiors overall seem more eclectic and offer a fun back drop for blending styles and influences.”
At Morgan Fabrics, globally inspired fabrics are also featured, along with style trends referenced as Abstract Watercolor and Tie-Dye by Paulina Muzekari, vice president of design and merchandising. Muzekari said that Morgan is showing a mix of velvets, prints, textures and jacquards for summer Showtime.
“Global style is still very much in the forefront, and we’re seeing a resurgence of decorative tribal textile looks,” she said. “Tie-dye looks continue to be strong and work well as pattern elements in today’s modern interiors. Blues and grays continue to be strong at retail along with linen and dryer casual looks in lighter palettes, and we are starting to see more green entering into the palette along with a resurgence of brown shades.”
Representatives at De Leo Textiles describe the company’s summer Showtime collection as one that buyers “won’t be able to keep their hands off.” Referencing textures taken to extremes via plush chenilles, super rustic artisanal qualities and “bling,” Katie Atwater Williams, creative director, said De Leo is excited to introduce the touch-friendly collection to buyers, along with a new signature group.
“Todd Bowles’ signature collection, Carousel, is featuring back to basics this season,” Williams said. “Todd has taken traditional go-to elements and added a new twist.”
More than 100 new fabrics are debuting in the Keystone and Se7en showrooms, said Bob McKinnon, CEO of BT, parent company to both lines. Some of the new trends represented in the two showrooms are Industrial, Ethnic, Bohemian, Romantic, Modern Art and Global.
“We continue our research on color and trends for home furnishings, and other markets that influence today’s consumer,” McKinnon said. “We leverage this market and consumer intelligence to continually refine our yarn banks to create on-target new constructions and colors.”
More than 70 new patterns and 300 SKUs will be presented at the Regal Fabrics showroom and President Steven Kahan said that the focus designs include Black and White, Color Block, Cuban inspired and Tribal Trends.
“We’ll also be launching our collection of performance fabrics, unique textures with a range of colors offering stain resistance, cleanability and exceptional durability,” Kahan said. “The new design groups will coordinate with our best-selling plains and textures, and with the new performance category, our customers can find solutions to all of their needs at Regal.”
Cathy Smith, representing South Pacific Textiles, said summer introductions will build on strong placements from previous shows as well as expand the line with new designs based on consumer preferences at retail.
“We’re building on December’s well-received and well-placed introductions of textured solids, including Brentwood, a twist-yarn solid with great depth from our Luxury collection, priced strongly at $9.95,” Smith said. “We have had great response to our peacock feather pattern, Plume, and will be adding new solids that coordinate well with it.
“We see several strong trends that will play out over the next 18 months at retail, which we are supporting with new introductions,” Smith continued. “First, the textured solids theme continues at every price point. A big part of our successful introductions over the past few Showtimes fall into this category and will be expanded on with new introductions in June.
“One of the most exciting new trends I saw in upholstery at High Point is the use of quilting,” Smith said. “We are introducing two new quilted velvet looks at Showtime — Joelle and Estelle — that fit the quilted trend and are offered in a large array of colors.”
Richloom officials said the company is bringing “many new SKUs” to Showtime, including fabrics with a performance story.
“We are bringing our classic brands; Platinum, Richloom upholstery, R Gallery, Solarium, and launching our Fortress collection with Home and Acrylic,” said Nolan Mitchell, vice president of upholstery sales.
“Fortress Home features indoor residential fabrics engineered for performance with easy clean and water repellent properties. Fortress Acrylic offers indoor outdoor solution dyed acrylic fabrics that are durable, easy to clean, water and wear resistant and are bleach-cleanable.”
“Consumers are demanding performance products for their home environments,” said Michael Saivetz, chief operation officer and vice president. “Whether it is a cleanability story, durability story or indoor — outdoor attributes, the key word is performance.”
Brentwood Textiles is bringing 100 new styles to Showtime, said Katharine Dotterer, designer for the line. Dotterer said that Brentwood has added new base cloths as well as a large number of jacquard patterns and that STI’s Revolution performance fabrics continue to do very well in the market.
“Some of the trends we have seen are distressed vintage looks,” said Dotterer. “We are introducing digital prints as well as Revolution jacquards.
