Textile Stories: Heimtextil 2025

"Despite challenging market conditions, Heimtextil remains a strong and reliable platform for the global industry, offering solutions for sustainable success to trade, industry, and contract business. For 2025, we are expanding our offering to specific target groups, creating valuable synergies, and are looking forward to welcoming numerous new exhibitors, returning participants, and high-profile partnerships," reveals Olaf Schmidt, Vice President of Textiles and Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt. The first alliance is a collaboration with the Milan-based design platform Alcova, represented by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima. They will curate the so-called trend area in Hall 3.0 under the motto "Future Continuous." New narratives as a framework for evaluating textile products underscore the necessity of engaging with the historical significance of fabrics to weave innovative and sustainable design concepts with future potential. In doing so, it is worth revisiting the origins to perhaps revive long-lost techniques and principles, contextualizing them with contemporary (and digital) processes. This is because trends evolve in waves, ebbing and flowing like the tides. As such, they continually allow for fresh thematic connections. Experts such as Janis Jefferies, Ilse Crawford, Christine Ladstätter, Dirk Vantyghem, Simone van der Burg, Lucas Evers, and Eugenia Morpurgo examine and evaluate this guiding idea from diverse perspectives, providing ample material for reflection and a change of thinking.

The second creative partnership with the renowned designer and architect Patricia Urquiola promises a lasting textile design experience through her installation "among-us." Her work combines design with hospitality, creating an open space where textiles can be experienced with all the senses. Patricia Urquiola, who founded her design studio with Alberto Zontone in 2001, is renowned for challenging boundaries: "We begin with an evolutionary development approach. It's about listening but also about presenting. Our focus is on advancing textiles to integrate them into product design, interior design, and architecture. The special presentation at Heimtextil will be a synthesis of our work and vision."

"among-us" will be part of the exclusive Bed, Bath & Living presentation in Hall 12.0, where selected exhibitors will showcase high-quality bedding, bathroom textiles, decorative cushions, bedspreads, and home accessories.

While the focus here is on comfort and healthy sleep, Hall 4 hosts highly functional and forward-thinking concepts under the title "Interior.Architecture.Hospitality." These cutting-edge solutions cater to hotels, restaurants, and public spaces, offering secure and sustainable approaches. Well worth seeing and experiencing is the Boulevard, where carefully selected pioneering functional textiles are on display — once again, Jana Vonofakos, Felix Diener, and Gerhard Sperling curate the exhibition and offer guided tours on all trade fair days.

In addition to functional properties like flame retardancy, antimicrobial qualities, water and dirt repellency, , lightfastness, and soundproofing, the products' design and innovative textile construction methods play a key role in the selection process.

As always, Talks+Tours and Guided Tours by various providers in collaboration with Messe Frankfurt also offer a wealth of expertise and insights. Notable contributors include Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk (JOI-Design) and Sophie Green (Sophie Green Interior Architecture); Saskia Eisel (Luxusnest) shares her personal highlights during a guided tour. Additionally, Marina Cella (External Reference Studio) and Miriam Giordano (Labóh) conduct a tour in Italian. These guided tours are aimed at architects and interior designers last between 1.5 and 2 hours.

Even more explanations, information, and inspiration is provided at the Econogy Hub, the sustainability area of Heimtextil, featuring innovative brands, insightful talks, and engaging tours. The Trend Space further explores the creative potential of existing resources in new and surprising ways. 

While the hype around sustainability may be gradually waning, the necessity of adopting eco-conscious practices has become an undeniable reality for modern, responsible businesses. As Canadian biologist, publicist, and winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize, David Suzuki, aptly puts it: "We've got to put the 'eco' back into economics!"

Use the Econogy Finder tool to easily locate suppliers of certified textile products.

Last but not least, it is worth taking a look at the Heimtextil University Contest 2025, which shines a spotlight on creative emerging talent. This time, three winners impressed with outstanding concepts: Kateryna Basiuk from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland was inspired by the delicate structure of moth wings. In her "Silent Canvas" project, she designed sound absorbers made from recycled yarns, merging functionality and aesthetics. Finnish designer Eszter Nagy from Aalto University explored the theme of light with her "Lumen Collection," staging woven textiles as floating membranes between light and space. Birke-Katharina Weber from the Weißensee School of Art and Design Berlin dedicated her work "MycoColors" to the development of sustainable dyes from fungi and explored innovative possibilities for ecological dyeing techniques.