Spring 2007 Trend Report

Both Sides Now

The great outdoors has been welcome in our homes for so long that its presence is natural to the point of being imperceptible. For years now, designers have been bringing elements of the garden indoors, incorporating everything from rusted park benches and lichen-cov- ered urns to antique reclaimed brick to add rich texture to rooms. In fact, such objects have become some of the hottest antiques, spurring the garden furniture industry to produce high-end reproductions.

In a more recent twist, the patio has become an alter ego outdoor living room as homeowners seek to seamlessly expand their inside rooms to the outside. kitchens. Montecatini, now available in twenty-one One of the crucial eye-popping colors, is Chella’s top seller. factors propelling this trend is the techno- If residential clients had reservations in the past about logical innovation in using outdoor textiles in their homes, the sheer abun- performance textiles. dance of luxury outdoor fabrics today renders that a Where once there moot point. Chuck Chewning, co-founder of CCID, an were only the most Atlanta-based design firm specializing in the high-end basic styles in the international hospitality market, has used Chella textiles coarsest fabrics, the for many five-star hotels and resorts. While visiting the last five years have ushered in an explosion of sophisti- home of a client, an owner of luxury hotels in the Baha- cated and plush patterns that mesh with homeowners’ mas, Chewning recognized a Chella textured chenille on interiors. a lounge chair and ottoman in the master suite. Upon asking the hostess: “Did you know this is an outdoor Reinventing the category, Chella’s Luxury Performance fabric?” her surprise matched her enthusiasm: “Oh, it Textiles™ are as likely to be elegantly gracing rooms is? I don’t care, I just loved the pattern.” as to be adding material comfort to outdoor spaces. Not surprising, since Chella’s designer Scott Bodenner Chella’s latest offerings further the movement toward -- whose specialty is residential textiles -- brings his universal acceptance of outdoor textiles for interiors. In unique interior perspective to outdoor fabrics and in the Chella’s hands, matelasse -- a weave whose long as- process, erases the line sociation with bedding may render it the quintessential between them. When inte- interior fabric – becomes a rior designers saw Chella’s performance textile whose luxurious Montecatini – seeming delicacy belies the first chenille solid in the its ability to withstand outdoor fabric market – it the rigors of outdoor liv- didn’t take long for them to ing. Undoubtedly Spiral deem it the perfect choice Matelasse, in its range of for upholstered furniture, fashion-forward colors, will especially in high-traffic rest on as many beds as areas like great rooms and pool chaise lounges. Spring 2007 Trend Report Page 1

Contact: Anne Martin 917.817.7557 [email protected] www.chellatextiles.com Spring 2007 Trend Report

Worry-Free Luxury

Luxury is defined as inessential but conducive to plea- smartly-edited sure or comfort in life. In today’s home, there’s no short- selection of solu- age of luxury items. All hold the promise of pleasure tion-dyed acrylics but for many, the specter of ruin isn’t always far behind. includes several Hardly a comfort. Our live-for-the-day era encourages irresistible varia- us to use the good dishes, and if a few chip or break tions, such as along the way, so be it. Aretha in Sand Dune/Cream, For many this is easier said than done; indeed such Click Track in vexing matters concern even the super-rich. A tour of Sand Stone and New York’s historic Rockefeller estate Kykuit includes a Fret Work in visit to the butler’s pantry where a sink made of Monel, Alabaster. A client a most expensive metal, was allegedly chosen in 1901 of Chewning’s because its softer chose an off-white surface was said Chella chenille for to be kinder to fine outdoor furni- china service. ture that graces sweeping wrap- When it comes around terraces to home textiles, in Athens, Greece, and there are no worries – despite certain choices intense sun, severely polluted air, and plans for frequent beg the question entertaining. that Jim Swan, a Beverly Hills- Moreover, in the luxury hotel industry, the trend is for based interior rooms with a residential feel that leave guests with the designer, would impression that they are the first. Banished are cam- have clients ask ouflaging patterns and in their place are milky whites, themselves: “Do I creams and transparent fabrics. Chewning points to the want to be a slave near ubiquity of white linen duvet covers. “The guest to this fabric?” perception must be that the rooms are pristine and For many who well-cared for.” White upholstery in guest rooms, on the love the serenity other hand, would seem to surely court disaster. And of an all-white decor, it may mean imposing the dreaded while the properties of Chella’s logic-defying fabrics “no red wine” rule in the house. For families with kids are legendary, so ingrained is white’s impracticality that and pets, it can mean a matter of finding a compromise the Maui Hilton’s Quality Assurance team subjected an between the sumptuous fabrics they crave and more optic white Chella design to suntan oil, lipstick, red wine enduring styles made to handle the everyday assaults of and intense sun before ordering thousands of yards for life in a bustling household. hundreds of winged-back chairs. Having passed the test with flying colors, the Of course, it can be done with incredible panache. New fabric is enjoying its day in York-based interior designer Alex Papachristidis re- the Maui sun. members well his first exposure to outdoor fabrics used inside. It was at the apartment of fashion design legend “Outdoor fabrics have be- Bill Blass. “All the sofas were upholstered in a white out- come so sophisticated and door fabric – he had dogs – and against the backdrop of beautiful, that practicality is his objects and antiques, it was so chic.” no longer a compromise. It can look divinely chic,” White is no longer off limits – especially since Chella’s adds Papachristidis. Spring 2007 Trend Report Page 2

Contact: Anne Martin 917.817.7557 [email protected] www.chellatextiles.com Spring 2007 Trend Report

Channeling Coco

When it comes to inspiration in home and fashion design, it’s a two-way street. So it’s not surprising that Chella’s designer Scott Bodenner haunts the boutiques of Bergdorf Goodman to keep abreast of what’s hap- pening in fashion. Indeed, Chella’s plush Monteca- tini was modeled after velvet clothing that caught the designer’s eye on such a jaunt. This season, Bodenner pays homage to fashion icon Coco Chanel with Coco Tweed.

blared the song “Young Folks” with lyrics that put it bluntly: “And we don’t care about the old folks, talkin’ ‘bout the old style.” Likewise, Bodenner keeps it young and fresh with his palette of lively brights, rich dark tones and raffia, a creamy neutral. Says Bodenner, “The pattern’s geometry is simple so it easily moves from classic to modern.”

Chanel is credited with bringing tweed to high fashion in the late 1920s and it has remained part of the language of couture ever since. The signature wool boucle tweed suits, known for their impeccable fit, are as comfort- able as they are elegant. “Ask any woman who wears Chanel tweed and she’ll tell you it wears like iron,” says Bodenner. Its inherent beauty and brawn inspired Bodenner to reinterpret Chanel tweed for luxury perfor- mance fabrics.

But let’s be clear: this isn’t your grandmother’s Chanel. At the spring 2007 show Karl Lagerfeld paired classic Chanel tweed jackets with sparkling sequined hot pants and in an obvious break from its more mature clientele, Spring 2007 Trend Report Page 3

Contact: Anne Martin 917.817.7557 [email protected] www.chellatextiles.com Spring 2007 Trend Report

Silver Lining

“Mesmerizing luminosity” was what fashion designer Marc Jacobs said he was aiming to convey with his spring 2007 collection of enchanting neutral silhouettes punctuated with metallics. It was a theme throughout the shows, where me- tallics shined softly and looked at turns worn and broken-in. The fashion house Burberry, in maintaining its tradi- tion of fabric innovation (they patented gabar- dine) showed high-tech brocade trench coats woven from aluminum and silk in its Burb- erry Prosum collection. in fact developed for a heat reflective film to be used in Aluminum may conjure building projects. foil and cans, but the lightweight, silvery- The first to incorporate the metal into outdoor textiles, white metal is the per- Chella’s decision to embrace aluminum was a matter fect choice to convey of pure aesthetics. “It looks cool,” was designer Scott in a garment what Burberry designer Christopher Bailey Bodenner’s simple explanation; he then chose Glis- called “a lightness of spirit.” sando sheers for his own bedroom. “They have all the glamour of a true metallic but without the overdone When the first commercial process for producing flash.” aluminum was created in 1854, the metal was The collection of silvery metallic sheers includes Impre- more valuable than sario, a solid; Arpeggio, a stripe; Staccato, a small gold. Now humble modern pattern; Grace Note, a large modern stripe aluminum’s former and Glissando, which incorporates a signature Chella luster is poised to be floral design. restored as design- ers across disciplines explore a range of new applications. On the home front, there’s been a boom in high- fashion aluminum furniture designs, most notably from celebrated architect Philippe Starck and Ford GT designer Camilo Pard. And in the world of textiles, Chella launched the first metallic sheers coated with aluminum plasma.

Aluminum is exceedingly strong, lightweight and mal- leable and -- as a plasma coating -- so fine that the fab- ric hand remains supple and pliable. The process was Spring 2007 Trend Report Page 4

Contact: Anne Martin 917.817.7557 [email protected] www.chellatextiles.com