Yarns telling a tactile, colorful tale
Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, August 4, 2003
It was small but full of good stuff, "it" being the Yarn Fair held in New York in late July.
And since fiber and yarn is where the whole fabric thing begins, it was a chance to see well in advance what fabric trends are evolving.
First of all, this show was truly global in character, with a few Asian yarn suppliers showing product that rivaled some of the Europeans who have dominated the fashion end of the business.
Overall, the predominant fashion statement was tactile — thick and thin yarns, exaggerated chunky yarns, lots of depth created with multi-level and bulky effects, layered looks. And all with an almost sensual, soft hand.
Then there were the fashion statements such as eyelashes, lots of very subtle glitter, subtle silky sheen and ombre effects.
And for a change, this was a yarn fair where you didn't fall asleep because of the absence of color. If nothing else struck you, color had to. It prevailed and it was terrific. Beiges, blonds and off-whites were sort of hidden in the background.
Almost every stand used color as the magnet for attention. And it didn't matter what specific color was featured, as long as it was eyecatching.
We're definitely in for a brighter, more colorful era. Even if what was shown was primarily apparel driven, it almost certainly will morph into the home furnishings business sooner rather than later.
We're already seeing the emergence of brights, the many shades of pink, oranges and purples in home furnishings fashion looks. The next step is more intense saturation of colors and the added impact of these new yarn constructions for a whole new fashion statement of texture, dimension and color.
