At the just concluded Winter Showtime fabric market held here in High Point, North Carolina, Design Options, a Los Angeles-based trend and color forecasting company presented “What’s to Come and How to be Prepared.” Dedicated to bringing Southern California’s unique aesthetic to the world, Design Options, www.design-options.com,   highlighted six trends for the Spring/Summer 2009 season.

• Gardenesque – butterflies and florals with plaids and dots (it’s o.k. to take risks!);
• Summer Blush – pinks and corals; reds and mauves too;
• Geo Jungle – geometrics and florals;
• Dots and Stripes – bright stripes with white as accent; funky dots, new fresh fun, not your typical dots;
• Natural Selection – rustic browns, yellows, blues, earthy tones;
• Pattern Play – animal skins, prints, paisleys, monotone or fun colors.

“There’s very little difference between apparel and home furnishings in color trends anymore,” related Ed Morgan, a print designer at navyblue design studio, based in Greensboro, N.C. following the presentation. For those not lucky enough to have caught the seminar, Morgan summed, “Eco-ethical was the main focus, but not in just thinking ‘green,’ as in dyes and chemicals, but in motif as well.”

“Overall, the trend seems to be just more fun all around,” he noted. “Prints and geometrics are back, which is great! Paisleys are more fun and dots and stripes are new and fresh. New retro: old mixed with new, with vibrant colors, metallic treatments in all colors, and gold as an accent are also a few of the trends I picked up at the presentation,” Morgan said. “Grey will continue to be strong, but be brought in in stages. Nobody is forecasting the next popular color however. Now, it’s more about color combinations.”

By Shannon Kennedy, High Point Market Authority