This collection designed by Edward Van Vilet for Moroso and previewed for Milan, is some cooly calculated combination of patchwork, geometrics and kid fun (thus the ’sushi’) Plus those colors!

It hits a lot of cords at one time which is why I give it a heads up. Edward claims he used a spirograph for the print design. I knew I recognized that from somewhere (I think from my daughter’s tool kit when she was a kid). So he’s gone beyond the usual stars and dots. Fabulous thinking and an even better result.

For more images and a video of the designer’s thought process see designboom.

(he was influenced by Marrakesh, too!)

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If Michelle O’s inaugural day dress has anything to do with it, (and I think it does), Texturize Me will be the new watchphrase.

This movement, layers of texture, has been happening for awhile though and Mrs. Obama’s dress just is a stand-out example of the times. Prada used lace in a recent past collection, I’ve shown how lace is being used in home furnishings….these are just a few examples of how texture is giving us dimension, depth, and layers or even representing the very fabric of our lives.

After all, not much in life is one dimensional anymore except the worldwide web, many would have you believe. It’s flat and has served to flatten supposedly our daily heirarchy, but I don’t see that happening much. If anything, it’s veiled heirarchy and that takes us back to texture.

And now too India is jumping into the fray. Talk about layers, of culture and history: witness the Jain Temple at Ranakpur.

The Jains are a Hindu sect known for their non-violence and asceticism, and this temple complex is one of the most important Jain sites in India. Photography by Murray Fredericks. July/August 2008 Vogue Living Austrailia.

Yes, of course, by all means, Texturize Me.

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Analyzying the Google data on Trendbites dashboard was an interesting exercise this morning. I wanted to know what was on people’s minds not just for the month but for the whole year and then their patterns throughout the year. Of course you have to take different things into consideration but let’s use some lists to cut to the chase.

Top Searched subjects for 2008 on the Trendbites blog:

1) Tattoos
2) Eco friendly water bottles.
3) Sarah Palin’s Wardrobe, designers and where can get it
4) Suzanis
5) Fretwork

Each one of these search terms can be elaborated upon because people used various terms to find info on these subject matters plus I would say that there were related items that fell into a sidebar of those topics, such as in fretwork also came Asian ornamintation….cloisone, champleve, etc., and they searched Benjamin Crutzfeldt’s name or his porcelain which is based on 18th century Chinese porcelain techniques but modernized.

As well several of these were either spiked by the news media, i.e., Palin’s wardrobe and this summer’s newsworthy research on the chemical in plastic water bottles being unsafe for people.

The very interesting one is that the tattoo subject is pretty consistent (throughout the year) as is fretwork, and suzanis…..a more recent though I expect timely for several reasons is the new Spring pattern for Pfaltzgraff’s dinnerware, Fruit Bounty. The Macys/Rwanda Project is also a big search item for December.

The remaining five of the top ten had to do more with star power, i.e., angelina jolie (who had more searches than Brad Pitt, fyi) but most of those searches came when they were getting ready to have their twins.

Then there was Heidi Klum’s red dress by John Galliano for the American Heart Association and Coke Sweepstakes promotion during the Oscars….again news timing.

And lots of searches for different industry color trends, a few in general trends for 2009-2010, BTS/BTC Dorm info searches, and finally named designer searches i.e., Oscar del la Renta, Dior, Moschino, Ralph Lauren and Nau (menswear for 2009 and the color of orange was searched specifically). I had a few for the timourous beasties wall paper and Scott Hill furnishings, the wallpaper or even furnishings from the movie Lucky #Slevin, and a few for the artists Damien Hirst and Richard Prince.

These searches can all be qualified by #1, I write about these items, #2, these are the things on people’s minds either professionally or because the news has spiked interest (TREND), or, and this one is special just because I went through the same thing, #3, very little otherwise is written about them such as Mumenshance the mime troupe from Switzerland. So they are one of the top five consistent trends but I know that that is a very special interest topic, not a trend per se.

Those top five as I listed them above are worth your consideration. My own bottom line is that if I wanted to make this a blog just about color trends and color per se in many industry categories, I would do very well with the blog….but hey all you out there I do write trends about color in depth and that info can be gotten in a much more specific manner, i.e., I use acutal pantone numbers by industry or even can create palettes!

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Design Editor, Danny Sinipoli, of GlobeandMail.com (Canada’s leading source for online news) wrote a great article on patchwork, “‘All patched up.’ From rugs to table runners, patchwork patterns are everywhere. Danny Sinopoli explains why designers are going to pieces.”

I recommend taking a visit, not just to read what he too has to say, but his slideshow examples are fabu! It doesn’t hurt that he’s quoted me in the article too….thank you Danny, but he’s also got a great pulse on patchwork, showing its more modern side for today’s more contemporary would-be purchaser.

top image from Casasugar: Tal R, designer, used materials from as far away as Istanbul and Denmark.

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These Central Asian textiles made this blog last year courtesy of MyMarrakesh when Trendbites featured the suzani that are part of Maryam Montague’s private stash, along with the ones she herself will be selling on the Peacock Nest, her online shop of all things Marrakesh and other assorted and exotic middle eastern goods. And suzani made a good round on cyberspace about the same time. It was exciting to see what all was available and how. Style Files had a wonderful layout showing how suzani were being used in all different types of applications. If you search suzani now on Google you’ll come up with a whole host of options, not so 4 or 5 months ago.

For April’s issue, Lucky Magazine featured a “trend in the making…” page on suzani, which were really mostly products inspired by the ethnic ancient suzani. The blog, Poppytalk, has actually featured the whole page, but it was a handbag that held her heart…other commenters liked other things. The one that caught my eye was the dining room chair from ABC Carpet which has a 60’s kind of frame to it, but because of the fabric it takes on a whole other modern dimension, or vice versa, the 60’s look took on an ethnic pulse because of the fabric, albeit a fresh pulse.

Which prompted me to check out ABC’s website to see if there were more and voila! there’s a whole round-up of ottomans and chaise lounge chairs and other chairs; a visual delight, sure to satisfy any of those cravings you may have been having for rich sumptuous and exotic textiles. ABC Carpet says the items are one of a kind and made with reclaimed textiles and that vintage material from the villages of Central Asia and the Middle East inspired their creations. Of course, these things don’t come cheap. The dining room chair Lucky featured from ABC is $3,000.00 for a set of two–but I would guess you wouldn’t be trading these in anytime soon, and if you did, well imagine the resale value; they’re keepers, folks, keepers.

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