Three trend experts had their fingers firmly on the pulse of what will be trending in 2019 during the recent Top Drawer (January 13-15 London Olympia). Speaking at a RetailFest panel discussion, Sommer Pyne (founder of online kitchenware and lifestyle retailer and workshop venue, House Curious) Louise Healy-Adonis (associate director at Futures Flamingo Global), and Kirsty Whyte (creative and product director at SoHo House Retail), discussed the three hottest trends of 2019, where the key buzzwords are ‘authenticity’, ‘individuality’, ‘meaningful’, ‘mental health’, ‘spirituality’, ‘recycling’ and ‘community’.
“(Im)Perfect is about authenticity, and celebrating being different,” explained Sommer Pyne. “For example, wonky ceramics, hand drawn lines, recycled materials that produce uneven shapes. It’s about stepping away from mass produced.”
According to Louise Healy-Adonis, New Tribe is another trend that will be huge for 2019. “The drivers are individuality, personalisation, traditional skills re-imagined, and heritage, with the younger generations searching for ‘meaningful’,” she emphasised. Sommer highlighted how retailers can offer “community experiences in their shops.”
Top: The Trend Report panel at Top Drawer (from left to right): Louise Healy-Adonis (Futures Flamingo Global); Sommer Pyne (House Curious) and Kristy Whyte (SoHo House Retail).
