New fabrics give intros a touch of glamour
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, April 18, 2005
Television shows and movies like "Desperate Housewives," "Sideways" and "The Aviator" have captured the imaginations of American consumers. They've also honed their appetites for the upscale elements appearing in the latest upholstery covers, which include at least a hint, and maybe more, of glamour from such eras as the 1940s.
The new upholstery lines, debuting here next week at the International Home Furnishings Market, will feature silks, velvets, linen, distressed leather, boucles combined with raffia, faux fur and metallic touches — in both strong color palettes and neutrals.
This "Aviator" effect is reflected in stepped-up styling and rich colors — and not just at the high end, but in the meat-and-potatoes segment of the market as well at producers like Rowe, La-Z-Boy and Lane Home Furnishings.
Andrea Banda, director of merchandising for Rowe Furniture, said "movies like 'The Aviator' spotlight what was so appealing about the silver screen and movie stars and America's aspirations toward that life-style."
That clean, retro-inspired look — with its upscale connotations — continues to be a strong design theme in upholstery for this market.
"Rowe's contemporary continues to be infused with retro — focusing on the '50s and '60s for a couple of years now," Banda said. "This season, we're calling it Techno Pop, and it's a fun, whimsical retro, with mid-century modern flair. There's a little more color, and we looked to apparel and industrial design for inspiration. We have a ton of purple — from lilac to royal — in combination with orange and bright yellow."
This season's retro is less sophisticated and more whimsical, Banda added. There are faux skins — like croc and snakeskin looks — some patent leather, Pucci-type patterns, Missoni-inspired textures and mélange-type tweeds.
"We really watch apparel. If people are comfortable wearing it, they are likely to feel comfortable dressing their home that way as well," she said. "Examples of that are the classic plaids and argyles we see in apparel, but in non-traditional colors.
"Robin Bruce (Rowe's upscale line) is evolving with playful elements like faux fur and metallic leather. The kind of thing that is classic but sprinkled with fun, interesting textures in small doses."
At ultra-luxe Marge Carson, Igor Jukanovic, marketing manager, said that "fashion has added detail to our upholstery. Jewelry accents in clasps and ties both in mixed materials of metallic and crystals. Whispered veils over silks on pillows and coverlets. Colors are saturated rich tones of earth reds, amber, greens and accents of Aegean blues against soft natural backgrounds."
Upholstery giant La-Z-Boy is launching a new upper-end line of upholstery called Inspired Living, with starting price points at $1,399, with more upscale constructions and vivid colors, said Penny Eudy, product manager, major upholstery.
"The colors and fabrics are more 'designer' oriented — yellows, golds, ice blues, purples and blacks with rich jewel-tone accents," Eudy said. "We still have to be aware that even at these prices, you have some consumers who want neutrals, but these neutrals are not 'dirty.' They are pure whites, beiges and taupes.
"We also added more correlates so the consumer can mix and match as he or she wishes. Our trims are higher-end also and can be mixed on the various frames as well."
Step-up leather is also a trend this market. Lane Home Furnishings, for instance, is planning to showcase "several higher-end leather articles— such as semi-anilines with unique surface effects — that are unique and exclusive to get away from the cheap, corrected grains that have saturated the market," said Greg Roy, vice president of marketing.
Robert Idol, who is debuting his first-ever collection for Lane, used glamorous hints of the 1940s and his background in high-end residential design in California to create "high-end residential looks at a value price."
These modern silhouettes and fabrics represent a significant departure for Lane, Idol said.
"Probably 80% to 90% of the fabrics I used in the Robert Idol collection are custom and exclusive to Lane. I worked with the mills using patterns taken from Art Deco buildings, wallpapers, tile and ironwork, for instance, which they reinterpreted as fabric."
Sandi Moore, director of merchandising at King Hickory Furniture, said the company "is going to step out this season and have a splash of fresh spring color.
"Red seems to be taking on a number of different hues this season and I have utilized salmon, watermelon, cognac, russet, copper, blush pink, hot pink, tangerine and basic red," Moore said. "These shades of red have been utilized in some vignettes with citrus hues from lemon to kiwi to green apple.
"In the more vintage-hued collections, the russet is paired with pecan and the tangerine is paired with chocolate. The cognac is the feature color in this particular collection."
Moore added that King Hickory also will have a few blue stories, including "a fun summery seaside blue, a tranquil soft spa blue and a rich midtone blue."
Trae Stokes, sales and marketing at Craftmaster, said the company is "adding more bright colors, such as salmons, corals, lime greens, mandarin oranges and spice colors. These aren't the only new colors, but they are the fresh colorations in the market."
Color emphasis at Lane, Roy said, includes persimmons, purples, red and orange mixed with neutrals and earth tones.
Performance fabrics and microdenier suedes, with their durability and cleanability features, continue to be an important segment, especially for promotional to midpriced stationary and motion upholstery.
Craftmaster has expanded its range of Sunbrella patterns for this market, said Stokes. "Performance fabrics are very successful for us."
Lane's Roy agreed. "Performance fabrics continue to be a focus for Lane at market. We have padded suede in new, fresh colors. The comfort, durability and cleanablility story is a perfect marriage for motion upholstery."
