on everyone’s minds – but we think it’s also
important to present opportunities and posi-
tivity,’ explains Anne Marie Commandeur,
owner and director of Stijlinstituut Amster-
dam. ‘That’s why we made the Trend Space
an experience that’s not only meaningful and
informative, but has some light-heartedness
and humour to it.’
Big, bold white lines imprinted
on the blue flooring of Hall 8 led visitors to
the area, though with a huge, inflatable figure
waving to them from the corner space, most
probably could have inferred where they
needed to head. Once in the Trend Space’s
commodious confines, visitors were exposed
to a world seemingly far removed from
the commercial bustle. The most common
point-of-entry exposed traversers first to the
Heimtextil Future Materials Library, curated
by FranklinTill. Then, moving along, fairgo-
ers could find themselves in Heritage Lux,
where artist Bart Hess’s undulating Grotto
bed beckoned passers-by to lay down; or
in Bastiaan de Nennie’s Maximum Glam,
where dancers from Project Pole performed
15-minute sets; or in Active Urban, a virtual
reality world designed by Roel Deden and
Envisions. Multi-Local showed photography
by Jan Hoek and Stephen Tayo and The Totem
of Life – a curated visual experience devised by
creative video technologist Peejee Doorduin.
Pure Spiritual, a refuge-like space housed
Bruce Shapiro’s kinetic, meditative sculpture
Sisyphus and photography from Raw Color.
The vast majority of the build-out will be
reused: only 5 per cent of the total exhibition
features will go to waste and included in that
tally is the carpet, which will be recycled.
‘Fairs like Heimtextil are exten-
sive, and it can be difficult to distil the biggest
“messages” from them,’ says Commandeur.
‘A lot of companies and visitors are explicitly
targeted and focused on specific regions or
products. But they want to be informed from
a wider perspective – to know what’s going
on generally, which things will go on to have
a direct impact on their business. The Trend
Space offers a broad opinion that might not
be immediately applicable for them and their
target, but still gives them an idea of the selec-
tion on offer from the fair at large and an idea
of the direction the industry is heading.’ LGM
stijlinstituut.nlCelebrating the cultural diversity of
our globalized world, the Multi-Local
area included totems covered in a
mix of batik and ikat prints, floral
velours and jacquard wovens.Show 81