Proposte show again keys on design, new technology
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, June 12, 2006
Cernobbio, Italy — A color palette focused on pinks, purples, browns with blues of all shades, lots of greens including avocado, and the now standard black-and-white were the key color stories at the Proposte show here earlier this month.
The high-end decorative fabrics exhibition at Villa Erba not only is a showcase for cutting-edge design in decorative fabrics, but also is a major platform for fabric technology innovations. And in both arenas, this year's Proposte didn't disappoint.
A major new direction, both for the Italian mills that form the nucleus of Proposte and the high-end mills from other European countries, was the prevalence of indoor/outdoor high-performance fabrics for the home.
As usual, silk constructions and designs were paramount, but this year they were enhanced with new twists such as metallic pigment print accents, metallic yarns and embellishments, and printing and pleating.
Expanding on the pleated looks were fabrics that created similar effects with yarn shrinking processes.
While chenille has ebbed as a fashion yarn, chunky-looking fabrics abounded, and many new offerings used unusual design and technology effects to create the look without the weight.
Pocket weaves also offered fashionable looks, and fil de coupe effects continued to be an important weaving technique.
Pattern scale was an important design statement at many fabric companies, with repeats up to several feet, as well as trompe l'oeil effects that created the look with smaller repeats.
