The trend tour of 2025 continues. Second stop of year is Paris with Maison & Objet.
As mentioned in the previous report, there is a bit of a nervousness in the industry. Are we done with recession or is there more to expect? M&O is also affected by a sense of nervousness. Those of us receiving newsletters and mail-outs from the organisers can see that the fair slowly but surely is including fashion… It has always been part of the fair, but is it getting bigger? Is interior design not enough? Do we NEED to fill all halls? Can we?
Also M&O had a tricky year 2024. The January edition was sooooooo good. Standing ovations. And September edition was sooooooo bad. We all know that this was because of the Paraolympic Games, so no shade on the fair actually.
But a nervousness.
But M&O was good. Really. I was there the two first days and there were long lines of people wanting to get in. So busy in the aisles. People were of course questioning if all these people were actually buying or if they only wanted to look at things.
But it was busy and good. Official numbers: almost 70 000 visitors and 2 377 brands (yes brands, not exhibitors). So compared to last year here, it is a little bit smaller than usual. But just very little smaller.
Before going into trends. Can we talk about how the Dutch (and Belgians) are the new Danes? It is an interesting energy with the Dutch right now. Brands like Polspotten, &Klevering, Kerstens and Belgian brands like Serax and Pomax, are getting really, really interesting. Danes like Hübsch, Bloomingville and Madame Stoltz used to be the fun brands with colour and creativity. They are now repeating themselves and just simple getting a bit uninteresting.
An overall theme for the fair was “surrealism”. Think Dali, Magritte and Schiapparelli. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeell… I saw some. Not a lot.
You see some surrealism. Some. Lips from Serax, onion jug from &Klevering and shoe from Kerstens.
Rinning mirror just like Dali at Polspotten.
It’s there but we need to make it more elegant if we want it to be something else than kitsch. But to me, it is evident that the Dutch/Belgians are the ones playing around with this theme. It’s like they have fun and selfesteem and the rest of us are just waiting for recession to happen.
But let’s dig into trends a bit deeper.
Trend 1 – dirt
First, but not necessarily most important trend, is dirt. Or smudges. Or filth. I mainly see it in textiles but can see it in other materials too. I think this is happening right now as a reaction to massproduction in China. The products from China are all plasticy and shiny. They would not add smudges so therefore it must be authentic and rea.
Above easychair from Faye Toogood. The smudges on the upper part is like if someone had fallen asleep with too much make up on.
All the fabrics at House of Lyria is like they are raw and dirty.
In the city we could find fabrics by Dedar that all felt a bit dirty.
You can of course see it in glass. Here at Henry Dean.
Dirty frames and smudges at All’Origine.
In general we can see that more and more vintage is coming. Broken, mended and repaired. I talked to two of my Swedish exhibitors (Jakobsdal and Olsson & Jensen) and they are now close to having 40-50 % of their items being vintage.
Trend 2 – American or costal modernism
Nostalgia continues. But we’re leaving the Mediterreanean style. Same era but more Palm Springs or the Hamptons.
These patterns on the easychair and table could easily be Eames but here by Italian Giobagnara.
Fun new tableware from Jonathan Adler.
In general I think we can expect more of Americana, like baseballs and footballs. Here at Kerstens.
Also these shell mirrors by Les Ottomans.
I think we will see much more rattan in general. Here with a soft 50s roundness.
And this new Portuguese brand – House of Capricorn – made a ton of beautiful things. Here at rattan woven chair. Can be both Portuguese or American Santa Fe.
I think we will see A LOT of wicker bread baskets. Here spraypainted at Bitossi Home.
American 50s plates. First one by Bitossi Home and second from Danish Rice.
Trend 3 – aqua
Speaking of nostalgic colours. I see a lot of aqua. A green blue hue, that I associate to a kind of pool colour. I see a lot of my trend colleagues are recommending a kind of nostalgic green. Personally I really like it with red. Here Bitossi Home.
Maybe more red than aqua… but still lovely.
Wallpaper
Pierre Frey
French brand Honore with aqua and blue green.
Nostalgic aqua at Rice.
Pierre Frey again.
Vista Alegre
Almost bottle green, but really not. Here at Pulpo.
Outdoor table at Ethimo.
Guaxs
Trend 4 – squares
We have seen stripes and chequared patterns for a while. I think we will see much more of diamond shapes. Here at & Klevering.
Bordalo Pinheiro
Also on plates like here at Vista Alegre.
Serax
Trend 5 – contemporary souk
My insights on the contemporary souk started with visiting the Belgian exhibitor Pomax. I totally fell in love with this super low sofa table. Imagine having lots of different trays on it. And the longhaired rug also fits. Super nice.
Alos Pomax. Loved these stools that is a mix of contemporary design and something ethnic.
More super low tables at Danish Cane-Line.
And Moorish architecture at French Honore. Nice.
As a rule of tumb, I would say that wood in general is getting darker and darker.
And more and more vintage. Wouldn’t it be super nice with a mix of theses old benches with some contemporary pieces. I think this is something that will grow. A new ethnic trend??