July 31, 2007 – AT LAS VEGAS MARKET – Christine Chow knows color.
The director of membership for The Color Association of the United States consults with a range of clients, from Lacoste to Godiva to Colgate-Palmolive, on upcoming design trends and brand marketing.
Chow, who has lectured around the country for the association, addressed attendees at the opening day of Summer 2007 Las Vegas Market about hot color trends for the American furniture industry.
According to Chow, color impacts consumers in a conscious and subconscious way. She said the association’s forecast shows there will be no one or two hot colors to watch for in the 2008-2009 color forecast. Instead, it will be a more varied approach featuring color families. “It’s a world of multi-color. Colors do not exist alone,” she said. “Full spectrum color is a new direction for 2009. And, as Americans embrace more color in everyday lives, they’re more adventurous about color combinations and unusual color effects.”
Chow said fine art and the booming art market stokes interest in a more artistic and colorful aesthetic. She pointed to a focus on surrealism, with a sophisticated approach toward design, giving the examples of the Mae West Lips sofa by Dali and Oppenheim’s Ostrich Legs Table.
Chow said a cool, clean Asian-influenced aesthetic is inherent in the forecast. Watch for blackened hues with a new alternative to black and whites in indigos, deep plums and purples on more fashionable, high-end products mixed with whites, off whites and browns. Yellow has been a rising color in many variations, including mango and wheat hues.
An example of styles and colors from around the world:
* Far East: Watch for “eastern cool” and aged neutrals from the landscape—stone gray, moss green, deep indigo—accented with lacquer red and sky blue. Chow said the forecast shows a continued interest in metallics, particularly with special finishes such as blackened patina or hammering. Also look for what Chow refers to as a purity in design, leading to natural forms and materials. For example, Project Import Export makes modern furniture using rattan and even water hyacinth.
* Indian Market: An earthy, saturated palette is reflected in the emerging Indian market, with vibrant colors related to fresh fruits and vegetables, showing the growing strength of the natural food movement. Look for ethnic prints, modernized either through bright colors or oversized scales. Chow pointed to sensuous natural forms in handmade goods, such as Michael Aram’s India-made metalwares.
* New England Shores: A sophisticated take on preppy, with moody mid-tones such as classic camel in the luxury market. Look for beachy, dreamy hues out of an Edward Hopper painting. Sandy taupes punctuated by barn red, salmon pink and grass green. This color palette reflects a rustic elegance that show consumers’ thoughts are increasingly turned toward nature.
The semi-annual Las Vegas Market is the world’s fastest-growing trade show for home furnishings, currently spanning nearly 4 million square feet of showrooms and exhibits and featuring 1,300 companies and lines. World Market Center will soon boast the greatest depth and breadth of furniture-related products compared to any other market center and will be the world’s largest trade fair complex when fully built out to 12 million square feet in 2013.
The Las Vegas Market continues through August 3, 2007 at World Market Center’s Buildings A and B, the Pavilions; the temporaries will be featured at Sands Expo & Convention Center opening on Tuesday, July 31.
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International