From silk to leather, hides, fancy tweeds and velvet, material designs for
2011 are taking a walk on the wild side with animal-inspired prints and camouflage designs. As seen at recent trade fairs in London and Paris, animal spots and stripes, and camouflage patterns have been given a major boost. Having spent time observing animals in their natural habitats on recent safari holidays, I was naturally drawn to these designs.
G H Leathers based in Northants in the UK stocks a vast range of skins in a wide range of colours, and they showed off some animal-inspired prints on cow hide at the Textile Forum show in London earlier this month. Amos Hill explained to me that the hides were imported from Brazil, and new designs included animal spots, zebra stripes, as well as nature-inspired motifs such as flowers and butterflies. G H Leathers is considered a valuable resource for designers of bags, luggage, and accessories, and they also sell traditional cow hide rugs. Last month at the
Le Cuir a Paris show, I met Rosie Drew, of the Britished-owned
The Deep Print Movement, who explained that they use advanced printing techniques and have been working with the likes of Paul Smith, Hermes and Dunhill to produce leather goods of premium quality such as bags and wallets, furniture, games, sporting and office goods. Over at the Expofil yarn segment of Premiere Vision (still in Paris), Rachel Crumbley, senior product trend analyst at
Cotton Incorporated, confirmed to me that camouflage colours will also be one of their key trends for Fall/Winter 2011 /2012. When previewing new designs at the
Premiere Vision fabric fair, I was pleased to find camouflage designs from French, Italian and German mills like F.T.F. (France textile Fabrication), Les Tissus Marey and Luigi Verga, as those from Zibetti e Orsini, Gallus and KBC. They were sophisticated and even chic, rather than the usual print that we would normally associate with the combat field. The updated cutting-edge patterns often appear distorted or blurred, or the fabric is covered with sequins or printed on sheer fabrics. Motifs from Rotary, for example, are stylised abstract patterns in camouflage colours.
