Stylepark Heimtextil 2020
Textiles in the Spotlight

For the coming year, the largest international trade fair for home and contract textiles has come up with an expanded program – for the first time, Heimtextil will be presenting the Interior.Architecture.Hospitality LIBRARY, a textile materials library in Hall 4.2. Designed as a work tool, the library focuses on the function of the textiles. The various materials will be divided up into the categories: “flame resistant”, “sound-absorbent, “scrub resistant” and “water resistant”. Every exhibit will be labeled with the name of its manufacturer, the stand number and its individual characteristics, meaning that the visitor can then head directly for the appropriate manufacturer.

This time round, the motto of the program for the 2020 lectures will be “Vielfalt – Diversity” and it will be taking its cuefrom current discussions in architecture and urban planning. There will be a different main focus for every day of the fair – from “Urbane Lebensorte im Wandel” (Urban Living Environments in Flux)), in which new forms of living will be discussed, to “Raum auf Zeit für Wohnen und Gemeinschaft” (Space and Time for Living and Community), where the focus will be on architecture for temporary living, from budget hotels to serviced apartments. The future of libraries will also be one of the subjects of the lectures: In view of increasing digitization new, more flexible ideas are called for. An extremely interesting feature for newcomers is the series of lectures “Talents: Impulse und Perspektiven für die Entwerfer von Morgen” (Talents: Ideas and Perspectives for the Designers of Tomorrow), as part of which renowned architects, interior architects and hotel experts will be presenting their projects and discussing relevant topics from the fields of building culture, interior architecture and design. In the “Design Dialogue” on the second day of the fair, January 8, 2020, from noon to 1.30 p.m. prominent guests and the people in charge of the field of trends at Heimtextil will be discussing innovations in the field of furnishing fabrics. The event will be taking place in the lecture area in Hall 4.2.

Something else not to be missed is the tours which will be taking place on a variety of topics regularly during the fair. Most of them will be starting from the tour counter in Hall 4.2, for example for the Interior.Architecture.Hospitality TOURS by world-architects which will be taking visitors on a conducted tour of the highlights of the contract textiles. The guided tours by AIT-Dialog will also be presenting selected manufacturers from the field of contract textiles. The Interior.Architecture.Hospitality DIRECTORY is free of charge and lists all the exhibitors at Heimtextil who offer contract textiles and furnishing solutions for commercial use.

With the tours by AHGZ, interior architect Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk will be taking visitors to the leading providers in the hotel sector. The tours by bdia are custom-designed to interest interior architects. With the “Green Tours”, the focus is on sustainability. And if you want to find out more about current developments in the green sector with Max Gilgenmann, consultant in sustainable textiles and fashion, the meeting point is the counter in the Green Village in Hall 12.0, A30. The exact departure times for the various tours can be viewed on the Heimtextil 2020 website.

Fascinating insights into current trends in interior design are provided by the Trend Space in Hall 3.0, where Anne Marie Commandeur, Director of the Stijlinstituut in Amsterdam, is in charge of Heimtextil 2020’s Trend Space and has given it the motto “Where I Belong”. This year’s theme is identity – its wide variety of textiles for interiors allows for a personal identity to be curated and offers scope for creative designs. The “Material Manifesto” in the Trend Space is something new. It was devised by Heimtextil together with the International Trend Council and has the aim of finding alternative materials which will minimize our carbon footprint.

Directly next to this in Hall 3.0, is where the forum “Textile Technology” is located; it will be showcasing manufacturers of machines for digital printing and innovative technologies. In 2020, Heimtextil will be presenting a greater range of machines for the textile industry and the exhibition space in general will be extended. Moreover, the new developments can be discussed at the “Textile Technology Talks” which will be inviting visitors to lectures and expert talks on all four days of the fair. In general, one of the good things about Heimtextil 2020 is its lectures and seminars: The bdia trend seminar “A Common Reality” will be consulting experts from the fields of design and textiles in order to address the question of the potential offered by textiles in the field of interior architecture in order to promote networking and generate collective momentum. To this end, the functional qualities of innovative textiles will be explained. The seminar will be taking place in Saal Europa in Hall 4.0, from 9:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. Advance registration is required.

The “Sleep! The Future Forum” in Hall 11.0, Foyer Nord, will be presenting the results of current research and innovative textiles to promote restful sleep, from “Sleep & Sustainability” to “Sleep and Interior Design”. In the Lecture Area in the Trend Space in Hall 3.0, leading designers and experts will be classifying current trends and their effects on the sector, as in in the lectures “Bio materials for a circular future” on January 7, 2020 from 4:30 p.m. through 5:15 p.m. with Eric Klarenbeek of Studio Klarenbeek & Dros, or “Innovative 3D woven textiles, their unique properties and versatility of applications” with textile designer Aleksandra Gaca.

A fascinating program, one which leaves a great deal of scope for individual emphases. The fair starts at 9 a.m. on January 7, 2020. The app “Heimtextil Navigator” guides visitors through the fair, with a map of the site and the halls, along with a practical exhibitor and product search facility.