Even if woodchip is still the most frequently used type of wallpaper, growing numbers of people have a new look and a change of scene in mind when they redecorate. And with an abundance of alternatives to choose from, why not give at least one wall a completely new covering?
After many years of joint development work, Verner Panton and Vitra’s Panton Chair – the first cantilever chair manufactured from a single piece of plastic – was finally ready for series production in 1967. The chair, which was a revolutionary piece both in terms of design and manufacture, was first presented to the public at the imm international interiors show in Cologne in 1968. Fifty years after the original’s presentation, Vitra is issuing two limited editions of the iconic classic in 2018: the Panton Chrome and the Panton Glow.
As a platform for young design, the Pure Talents exhibition format draws together imm cologne’s activities in support of the next generation of international designers. Its highlight is the Pure Talents Contest, which is entirely financed by the trade fair and looking forward to celebrating its fifteenth birthday at imm cologne 2018. Participants of this anniversary issue are Pia Regenbrecht with her collection Hyperreal and Julien Manaira with his plastic shelf The once liquid plastic.
On the occasion of the imm cologne, a special exhibition on the subject of interior design will again be held this year at the Museum of Applied Art Cologne (MAKK). This time, it will be the lavishly designed staging “Stylepark Selected imm cologne 2018”. After months of intensive planning, an exhibition has been created that probably never existed in this form before.
In the Pure Talents Contest, students and graduates who have recently completed their education, can apply with designs and prototypes that are not yet in production from different fields of interior design and smart home. Just like Anton Hendrik Denys with his Foam Fence and Anne Schmiederer with her Blue Ruffle Chair did. And now we will see them with their products at imm cologne.
With The Stage, the imm cologne is doing more than just providing a central rendezvous for professionals and creative partners in the industry; the forum also has an exciting programme lined up for the public days of the fair. At the weekend, interior designers and design professionals will give end consumers useful tips on interior decor. Some of the weekend’s topics are: interior colour trends (Axel Venn, Julia Hausmann), furniture hacking (Sigurd Larsen), interior decoration with light (Thorsten Moortz), eco-friendly room furnishing (Wibke Schaeffer and Moritz Zielke) and new bathroom materials (Martina Brüßel).
In terms of entrants to the Pure Talents Contest, the field has rarely been as international as it is this year, featuring 671 designers from 53 countries. Many entries were submitted by students and young graduates from every major university, including the RCA London, Design Academy Eindhoven, LASALLE Singapore, ECAL, Aalto University, Konstfack Stockholm, Pratt Institute NY, ArtCenter Pasadena and many others.
For many visitors, the prestigious programme of talks offered by The Stage is the starting point for their visit to the international interiors show imm cologne. Designers, creative talent and interiors professionals inform the audience about current developments in interior design. The lecture forum offers with 55 lectures on 7 days a very strong programme. Today the speakers will talk about natural materials in sustainable construction (Susanne Brandherm and Sabine Krumrey), DIY from a new perspective (Sigurd Larsen), living happily with Hygge (Barbara Delius) and colour for body, mind and soul (Axel Venn)
In just over a week, it is time at last – imm cologne opens its doors again. Guest of honor of “Das Haus – Interiors on Stage” will then be Lucie Koldova. “In my ‘Haus’, light will play the main role,” explains the young Czech designer from Prague, who is well known for her extraordinary flair in designing lighting fixtures and lighting effects.
The trends forum at the largest interiors show of the year cannot fail to shine a light on the fringe areas of interior design. Robert Müller-Grünow (Scentcommunication) will be explaining the important role fragrances can play in interior design. Virtual worlds are also playing an increasingly important role in the furnishings sector. Picking up on this field in the lecture programme, Mara Michel (.futurize dietrendagentur) will be offering an insight into “analogue virtuality”, while Michael Gairing (Blanx) will address the issue of augmented reality. And Barbara Busse (Future+You) will give an insight in the ideas about design and marketing of the Generation Z.