Heimtextil has teamed up with Alcova Milano – one of the most celebrated design platforms at Milan Design Week – for its 25/26 Trends display.

Founded by curator and creative director Valentina Ciuffi and architect Joseph Grima, Alcova Milano has made a name for itself by revitalising historical locations, combining design with art, architecture and other disciplines to create multilayered and surprising presentations that go far beyond traditional design exhibitions. Heimtextil Trends 25/26 thus looks at textiles in a new light and integrates both historical and forward-looking influences.

Under the new title ‘Future Continuous’, Heimtextil Trends 25/26 will present a continuous process of renewing and transforming past trends. The past is not only taken into account, but also revitalised and rethought. These rediscoveries are far more than nostalgic retrospectives – they serve as a source of inspiration to shape a new future.

As the title suggests, language plays an important role in trend research for Heimtextil Trends 25/26. “Language helps us to understand trends by describing how they develop over time,” explain Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima. “It enables us to analyse the significance of trends and predict their future impact. Language is therefore becoming a key tool for understanding and communicating the complexity and progression of future developments.”

Language is deliberately used to determine Heimtextil Trends 25/26: designers, textile researchers and representatives of associations and institutions from Alcova’s network share their perspectives in interviews. The work of the interviewees highlights the textile industry and related topics from various angles – from politics and history to data ethics and sustainable agriculture. Textiles are seen as important agents of change across cultures that are deeply interwoven into the ecological and global challenges of our time. The explanations not only look at the role of the past and future of textiles, but also form the basis for Alcova’s colour selection. The colour palette developed goes far beyond visual perception: each colour is given a name that contains a deeper emotional and cultural narrative.

“The collaboration between Heimtextil and Alcova promises to push creative boundaries and set new impulses for the textile world,” says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies. “With Alcova’s dynamic and contemporary approach, we not only want to recognise global changes and trends in the textile industry, but also explore how trends are perceived and used. We invite visitors to re-evaluate the cultural and material significance of textiles. Exhibitors will have the opportunity to take part in the Trend Preview and receive the Trend Booklet in advance.”

Heimtextil will be held from January 14-17 2025.