Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has released ColorForward Interiors 2016, the third annual trend and color forecasting guide for the fiber and textile market. This year's edition was expanded to reach a wider range of textile yarn and filament producers, including those serving the carpeting, upholstery, automotive, and interior decoration sectors. This unique creative tool from Clariant ColorWorks defines four trends that can be expected to attract consumer attention in the next few years and creates a color palette that can help marketers tap into the emotions behind those cultural currents.
For the first time, the ColorForward Interiors portfolio includes not only pompons made of polypropylene (PP) and polyamide (PA) fibers, but also "wrap cards" with polyester fiber samples. The polyester fibers are produced as air-textured yarn (ATY), which is also commonly known by the old DuPont trademark, Taslan. ATY yarn is commonly used in the automotive industry and also in furniture upholstery and clothing. The pompons are made from bulk continuous filaments (BCF) to create a texture that is favored for carpeting made in Europe, the Middle East and North America. All fibers in ColorForward Interiors 2016 are dope dyed or spin dyed using Clariant masterbatches (color concentrates) to impart color to the yarn.
"Each year we have released ColorForward Interiors, we have received valuable feedback about how we can enhance the value for our customers," explains Francis Baud, Global Head of Marketing – Fibers for Clariant Masterbatches. "By adding wrap cards with polyester yarn, we are now able to show our colors in a form that will be very familiar to a broad spectrum of fabric producers, designers and interior decorators. At the same time, we have retained the pompons, which are very popular in the carpet industry."
ColorForward Interiors is derived from Clariant's groundbreaking ColorForward program, now celebrating its 10-year anniversary. ColorForward springs from the minds and experience of color, design, marketing and polymer experts, representing multiple creative industries from all over the world. Each edition presents four global societal trends that can be expected to influence consumer behavior. The international team then selects different colors or color combinations that evoke an emotional response related to each trend. Trends identified for 2016 include:
Liquid Minds… this theme springs from the idea that people have reached a point where slow evolutionary change has to give way to revolutionary innovation; where they walk away from the comforting embrace of nostalgia, trust their instincts, look at the world through new eyes, and take bold risks that open up new insights and great leaps of innovation.
One of the colors in Liquid Minds is an aqua blue called Be Water. It was inspired by martial artist and actor Bruce Lee who said "Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves."
