Bright blue skies, crisp fall temperatures and plenty of sunshine were not the only wonderful things about our last six days at the fall 2016 High Point market. Record numbers of buyers, designers and vendors set the tone for probably the most energetic and optimistic market we have seen in quite a while. We came with high expectations and these were met! But what were the trends we noticed?
From our vantage point – remembering that we are design driven, contemporary and fashion-forward thinking at Sklar – here are our top five trend insights from the market.
1) Color was everywhere. From American Leather’s new palette of leathers to Guy Hill’s Thayer Coggin showroom speckled with brilliant blue, vibrant yellow and lipstick red. The pink of Breast Cancer Awareness was also very evident – our own Rick Howard wore his pink shirts and pink bracelet everywhere, and he was not alone! Our favorite item in this sense was the market’s pink fire truck that guests could sign. We also saw a lot of pink upholstery!
2) Modular seating was in almost every showroom. The ability to have 4 SKU’s only – left and right one armed seat, an armless seat and a corner – give the consumer unlimited flexibility. Modular seating is casual, comfortable and harkens back to the 1970’s with its “pit seating”. As a vendor, featuring this kind of seating will hit the millennial (moving fairly frequently – they will love the flexibility) to the GenX (with a young family – they will love the comfort and casualness) to the Baby Boomer (they will have a flashback to the seventies)!
3) Acrylic. This is a great material and has been seen previously in accessories and sparingly in furniture. This year we saw it in many applications: the base of an accent table, the back or side on a sofa and in all kinds of accessories. It appeared to be of excellent quality so like everything else in 2016, technology has had a positive influence on this material.
4) Whimsy. The the design community decided to laugh at itself and have some fun – forget about the seriousness of the upcoming election. From oversized animals in various materials and chandeliers with birds perched on top, to ceramic bulldogs in sunglasses and pillows with sayings like “Mr Right” (with matching pillow saying “Misses ALWAYS Right!”).
5) Fur – we noticed many pillows, ottomans, chairs and stools that look like furry animals! This trend was in almost every showroom from accessory vendors to the big guys!
Once again we bought all kinds of new product to keep our showroom fresh and exciting. With all that we have coming in from Milan and all the new product from High Point, make a point of coming in to Sklar to see what’s new!
