The demands placed on spaces are becoming more varied. In an increasingly fast-paced and digital everyday life, they are expected to provide a sense of orientation, meet functional requirements and, at the same time, offer respite. ‘Home-Maxxing’ addresses this tension. Textiles regulate light, absorb sound or filter air. At the same time, there is growing demand for materials that are pleasant to the touch, durable and do not create additional pressure to optimise. Whether at home, in a hotel, in the workplace or in healthcare, interior design must strike a new balance between performance and human needs. Together with the Milan-based design platform Alcova, Heimtextil translates this development into three trend directions: Staged Competence, Inside, Out and Hyper Presence. They range from visibly staged technical performance and exposed fastenings to materials whose tactility, texture and longevity take centre stage.

‘Home-Maxxing captures two opposing expectations of our time: the drive for ever greater performance and the need for respite. Heimtextil Trends 27/28 broaden the perspective on textile performance: it is not only about what materials and products can do, but also about how their function can be understood and their material qualities experienced. This opens up new avenues for the design and development of future products and spatial concepts,’ says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt.

01 Staged Competence

Functionality is meant to be seen. Staged Competence describes an aesthetic in which technical expertise does not remain in the background but is deliberately staged. Textiles and surfaces show what they can do – and, increasingly, how they do it. Technical codes, numbers, symbols and micrographics become design elements. What matters is not only the actual function of a material. Its performance should also be apparent from the outside. Anything that has been tested, engineered and optimised is allowed to look the part. Durability, technical sophistication and verifiable quality become part of the aesthetic.

The colours reinforce this technically informed character. Cool blues and greens, mineral shades and pale, almost synthetic colours evoke hardware, outdoor equipment and performance materials. A bright acid yellow provides a deliberate accent.

02 Inside, Out

What lies within the things that surround us? Inside, Out responds to a world in which technologies and digital systems are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to understand. The trend counters this opacity with a new openness: structures become legible and connections visible. Screws, straps, seams, cables, zips and other fastenings are no longer concealed, but deliberately become part of the design. A cover may reveal that it can be removed and replaced. Technology does not have to disappear behind a flawless surface.

This colour palette also thrives on visible contrasts. Dark charcoal and deep graphite evoke steel and industrial components. A saturated red and a soft violet provide almost artificial-looking contrasts. The palette is complemented by a muted, cool green-grey.

03 Hyper Presence

After all this optimisation comes the counter-movement. Hyper Presence turns attention to what cannot be measured: how a fabric feels against the skin, how a material ages or the atmosphere created by texture. Beeswax-treated fabrics demonstrate how powerfully materials can engage the senses: when warmed, they release the natural scent of honey and propolis. The trend responds to constant digital overstimulation with a deliberate physical presence. Materials accordingly take centre stage: natural fibres, rough, richly textured surfaces, wool, leather and wood-based textiles engage the body and the senses. Creases, patina and signs of wear are not flaws, but part of their character.

The colours, too, leave the digital world behind. Deep rust, burnt orange, ochre, dusty pink and a pale, warm off-white evoke fire, clay and oxidised metal. The palette is warm, earthy and calming, making it the clearest counterpoint to the cool, technical aesthetic of the other two trend directions.

The Heimtextil Trends 27/28 will be presented in the Trend Space in Hall 4.2.

Heimtextil 2027 takes place from 12 to 15 January 2027.