Color Trend Watch: Fashion and Contract Upholstery Markets at Anzea Textiles

Whether you are in the fashion textile industry or the contract upholstery industry like Anzea Textiles (http://www.anzea.com/), we all know that trends come and go and color is a huge part of the trend.  Fashion leads other design industries, specifically the contract industry.  In many cases the color and texture trends that originated in fashion become diluted and re-purposed for the contract market. 

The dilution period of the trend may take up to two years to really take hold in the contract industry.  One key element of contract upholstery that you must keep in mind is that it does not move at the rapid pace of fashion. 

Stylesight (http://www.stylesight.com/) is a wonderful source to see trends developing across the globe and industries.  There are colors that can transcend this time lapse and be used in multiple industries all in the same year or season.  Pantone’s 2014 Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid, has that potential more so than some of their previous selections.

The colors that are used in the contract industry take on a more sensible tone than the artistic and fanciful fashion versions.  It is necessary for people in all areas of design to stay informed on the trends that are developing outside of their own design niche.  Pantone’s 2014 Fashion Color Report (http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr/default.aspx?season=spring&year=2014&from=hpfeatures) predicts a pleasing range of nine colors, while the Color Marketing Group predicted a broader spectrum of twelve colors for the contract industry. 

The variations of colors selected for fashion versus the contract upholstery reflect one another while speaking directly to their respective markets. The fashion palette is considerably more daring and bold, while the contract palette utilizes some of the same colors but with a more subdued attitude. 

Anzea walks the line between utilizing the fashion and contract colors in an edgy yet practical way. Keeping a finger on the pulse of both industries is what gives Anzea Textiles a unique perspective and approach that other contract upholstery manufacturers lack.

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