What's New in Fabrics at Summer Showtime

One of the purposes of these posts is to provide you with the latest news out of High Point, NC. FURNITUREToday is a good source for that kind of information. At Summer Showtime in High Point, much of the textile industry has changed radically in the past five years.

Some fabric sources that sold entirely U.S.-made lines just five years ago, for example, now source exclusively from offshore, and familiar domestic mills are moving steadily toward a business model in which they serve more as marketing and sales agencies than producers.

Some favorites emerged with buyers; in fabric design strong black-and-white presentations accented with brights, menswear patterns like houndstooth and argyle in all sizes from mini to enormous, and performance fabrics.

In color, orange tones are still important, as are the soft spa blues with chocolate brown, interesting greens, including an emerald at LaFrance Inds. and a clear kelly as well, which was also important in prints at Duralee and Richloom.

One straw in the wind: Although prints still haven’t returned in force to upholstered furniture, there was some movement in the category.

Brian Gallagher, a partner at fabric supplier HomCraft, said, “Our Magnolia print line did better than ever before, so maybe that’s a sign prints are starting to come back. They make an inexpensive way to get color on the floor — and this market was all about color and performance.”

Bev & Mike