Heimtextil 2026 once again demonstrated its position as a global hub for textile design, bringing together creativity, innovation, and craftsmanship under one roof.
DESIGN
This year, the fair explored the intersection of tradition and technology, highlighting how designers are blending human intuition with digital tools to create the interiors of tomorrow.
Heimtextil Trends 26/27 under the guiding theme Craft is a Verb explored the dynamic tension between handmade artistry and AI-driven design. The Trend Arena in hall 6.1 showcased how high-tech processes and traditional craftsmanship complement each other, producing textiles that are precise, experimental, and deeply expressive.
Designers translate hand-drawn sketches into digital renderings, which are then implemented as jacquards, embroideries, or 3D-knitted works, revealing a dialogue between analogue and digital media. Irregular dyeing, visible seams, ruffles, tassels, and hybrid motifs highlight the beauty of imperfection alongside machine precision, while colour palettes blend natural tones with sharp, synthetic accents to create playful tension.
A key highlight of the trend presentation came from the Alcova x Heimtextil collaboration, which identified six trends demonstrating how AI, digital tools, and human creativity can coexist. Nature-inspired patterns are algorithmically decoded into textile designs, while technical elements such as wires or coils are intentionally showcased, turning functional components into aesthetic statements. The result is a collection of hybrid textiles that blur the boundaries between machine and hand, functionality and decoration, tradition and experimentation.
Adding a personal perspective on these innovations, DSCENE spoke with Patricia Urquiola about her immersive Heimtextil 2026 installation, among-all. The designer and architect explained how the project explores textiles as living, responsive systems that combine AI, material experimentation, and human interaction.
‘Among-all’ continues your exploration of textile thinking after ‘among-us.’ What new directions or questions did you want to grow into with this chapter?
Among-all is the second chapter of an ongoing exploration, but it is not a sequel in a linear sense. Where among-us focused on proximity, on being together, among-all shifts toward coexistence. It asks how textiles can become a shared material ecology, one that includes remnants, bio-based materials, technologies, and human presence. The question is no longer how we relate to objects, but how we inhabit systems that listen and respond.
To explore Patricia Urquiola’s full thoughts on among-all and the future of textiles, visit DESIGNSCENE.NET to read our exclusive interview.
