News: Trend Bible Trend Features from Top Drawer Spring, 2012

January 2012 saw Trend Bible partnering with Clarion Events for a third time to create bespoke trend concepts and physical trend features for Top Drawer, the UK’s leading event for design-led gifts, lifestyle and fashion accessories held at Earls Court Exhibition Centre earlier this month. After months of concept development, build design, prop sourcing and making, we finally brought our trend features to life for visitors to Top Drawer Spring…

We created 4 phyiscal trend features for Top Drawer, focusing on sectors from the show which are seeing the most growth – Stationery, Children’s, Wellbeing and Fashion Accessories. In addition to the features, we designed and produced Product Cards to accompany the 4 features, helping buyers to Shop The Retail Trend at the show.

Image of Trend Bible product cards courtesy of Flourish Studios

Top Drawer Show Director Raj Gill said of the show: “From behind the scenes to at the scene, Top Drawer and Trend Bible worked hard to serve retailers with the most exciting and pertinent trends for 2012/2013. Top Drawer scored an impressive 34% increase in visitors last week, and it was a visibly busy show with an audible buzz. The launch of Home alongside Top Drawer also hit the nail on the head with buyers, offering the latest on-trend homeware. Lots of new foreign buyers were tempted by the on-trend design-led exhibitors on show. In fact, the combination of both shows saw a whopping 79% increase on 2011. London has always been a key destination for design, and now has cemented its place for design-led products at Top Drawer and Home. The synergy between Top Drawer and Home was a winning formula that has set a precedent for future events from Clarion Retail, and we are excited to be a part of it.”

If you couldn’t make it along to the show, here’s a quick snapshot of our trend features; thank you for all of the positive feedback we’ve had from both exhibitors and audience, and a huge thank you to our team of stylists and the Clarion Events/So Group team for all of their hardwork.

Stationery Trends for Autumn/Winter 2012/13

We presented six trends for Stationery and Greetings at Top Drawer:

Luxe emphasises a new, luxurious element in Stationery and desk accessories with a focus on bronze, pewter and gold metallics.
Synth is all about confidence with colour; moving away from traditional colour groupings like ‘pastels’ or ‘neons’ and blending these together for a new bold look.
Monotype celebrates typography and a minimal, monchrome  graphic aesthetic.
Papercraft reflects consumers desires for products with authenticity, referencing hand-made, natural finishes.
Infrared focuses on layering shades of red from crimson to berry for a strong, contemporary look.
Patriot heralds 2012 as the year to celebrate the UK, referencing British icons from architecture through to royalty.

Above left; Synth stationery feature, above right; Patriot stationery feature, both by Trend Bible.

Above; Patriot and Papercraft trend features by Trend Bible

Above; Infrared and Monotype trend features by Trend Bible

Above; Patriot trend feature by Trend Bible

Here are a few exhibitors from the Top Drawer show that we felt reflected our key seasonal trends.

Undercover showcased their new collection of near-neon leather goods and stationery for Autumn/Winter 2012/13 – perfectly inkeeping with our Synth trend direction for Stationery and Greetings, below.

Exhibitors across all disciplines were well and truly embracing an overarching British trend at Top Drawer, with traditional British references like the London Bus mugs by Our Workshop, contemporary updates on this Patriot trend with London ‘Airfix’ style tea towels by Victoria Eggs, and postage screenprints and printed cushions by Annie Little all below.

Grow Your Own
Children’s Retail Trend for Autumn/Winter 2012/13

We presented a prominent Children’s trend direction at Top Drawer: Grow Your Own. This is an important trend for children’s products in Autumn/Winter 2012/13, as parents become increasingly aware of the benefits of home grown produce and nurturing through food. Children are becoming involved in growing and cooking food both at home and at school, which inspires a whole range of child-friendly garden and kitchen products. Think fun, vegetable characters motifs, one-colour garden gnomes and funky wheelbarrows, which work for both girls’ and boys’ product ranges.

Thank you to exhibitor Toby Tiger, who kindly loaned us wellington boots and raincoats for the Children’s trend feature.

Beauty Lab
Wellbeing Retail Trend for Autumn/Winter 2012/13 

Our Wellbeing trend feature, entitled Beauty Lab, referenced a slick, clinical trend direction for Wellbeing products in Autumn/Winter 2012/13, taking inspiration from the extremes of the beauty industry. This trend embraces a predominantly pastel palette, accented with neon flashes to create a very modern colour story.

Exhibitors Aromatika and Blend Collective’s product ranges were prime examples of how this trend direction can be implemented across product ranges. Their pared down packaging design showcases this clinical aesthetic perfectly, below.

Fashion Accessories Retail Trends for Autumn/Winter 2012/13

Our Fashion Accessories trend feature for Autumn/Winter 2012/13, focused on four seasonal trends:

Graphic Clash looks at a clean, graphic approach to fashion accessories after years of vintage references.
English Heritage showcases traditional British pastimes and motifs for 2012.
Beauty Lab is a slick futuristic story, showcasing silicone, rubber and perspex.
Faded Grandeur is a dark, brooding story looking at creeping botanical imagery and tarnished gold, bronze and copper.

Thank you to show exhibitors Pell Mell, CLICLOC Watches and Tyler and Tyler, who’s products we featured in our Fashion Accessories features, and an even bigger thank you to Liz Peck, an up and coming London-based propmaker who lovingly crafted the display hands which featured in all of the Fashion Accessories displays.

If you missed our Senior Trend Researcher Jill Hawkins’ seminar on Trends for Autumn/Winter 2012/13, you can find a downloadable version of her presentation here.

Did you visit home, Top Drawer’s co-located show? If not, click here for our report on emerging trends from the definitive new trade event for homeware and home accessories.

For more information about our Trend Features please contact the team at enquiries@trendbible.co.uk