The correlation between High Street fashion and Interior Design

Last week we were visited by a fabric company rep, who was enthusing about a new range in their portfolio. Whist we were flicking through the books I could not help but notice that I had seen these exciting fabrics before.  I then realised that they had been in shop windows and on the bodies of ‘trendy types’ populating the (washed out!) festivals this year.

In the same week we paid a visit to a home fashion showroom to look at some thrilling new products, and similarly they were displaying some key colour, pattern and texture trends that were also taking pride of place on our great British high street.

I think that trends often do become fashionable depending on what season it is, and many are the same trend re-branded. ‘Nautical’ is a great example of this. The minute spring/summer hits the shop out come the red, white and blue stripes, bird prints, washed driftwood etc and it is called ‘Summer By The Sea’ or ‘ Coastal Dreams’ or some other idiom that I ‘resort’ – see what I did there? – to calling nautical because I can’t be bothered to learn what it’s actually called!

Something that has particularly come into its own recently however is tribal and ethnic prints. In particular, the ‘Ikat’ design. Obviously this is more of a summer print, but as these colours can often have warm tones, think spices, it can also work in the winter.

My theory on this is that as more people are going travelling on their gap years, our fashion industry is being influenced by designs from all over the world. This is a pretty obvious conclusion; however I am surprised that these designs are being used in both the fashion clothing world and the fashion interiors world. As far as I’m concerned, unless there is a national event this is a rare occurrence. In my previous years working in department stores I would rarely see any parallels in the fashion departments and home departments.

Ikat (and other ethnic/tribal prints) is one of those lovely prints that can be translated into the home or onto the body and just ‘work’. The same cannot be said of some floral prints that make one look like they are ‘wearing a curtain’ or animal prints that can make you look like you are living in a ‘tarts boudoir’! It’s not for everyone, no. But I think it’s one of those great trends, like nautical, that could possibly become a staple of the high street and the interiors world.

 

Written by Katy

Picture taken by HomeSmiths