There is growing concern across the professional and business sectors about the ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming daily life and reshaping the world of work. Many within the creative industries remain sceptical, warning that AI threatens human satisfaction, confidence, and originality in creative roles.
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| Photo: Alcova for Heimtextil |
A recent survey conducted by DIGIT Lab, part of the University of Exeter, explored attitudes towards AI among UK creative professionals. The findings revealed that four in five designers believe the technology undermines originality. According to the survey, reported in Dezeen magazine, 81 per cent of designers said AI dulls creativity, compared with 63 per cent of writers and journalists.
Professor Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen, Director of DIGIT Lab, commented: “True creativity needs nourishment, not substitution.” She urged industries to view AI as “a tool for creation, not as a replacement for creativity itself.”
At a recent press briefing in London, Ivonne Seifert, Marketing Communications Director at Messe Frankfurt’s Heimtextil event, reflected on the evolving role of AI in design. She noted that while artificial intelligence is increasingly integrated into creative processes, there is also a growing appetite for the handmade, the intuitive, and the imperfect.
Seifert announced that the forthcoming Heimtextil trade fair (13–16 January 2026 in Frankfurt, Germany) will present Trends 26/27 under the central theme “Craft is a Verb”.
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| Heimtextile Trends 26/27 Booklet |
In collaboration with the design platform Alcova Milano, Heimtextil Trends 26/27 will explore the enduring significance of craftsmanship and the ways in which artificial intelligence can meaningfully complement and enhance it. The concept emphasises that high technology and traditional craft are not opposing forces, but together can inspire fresh creative possibilities.
This dynamic interplay between high-tech and handcraft will generate new creative impulses — from natural influences and handmade materials to AI-generated colour palettes. These innovations will be showcased in the curated Trend Arena in Hall 6.1, which will find its new home at the January 2026 Heimtextil fair, surrounded by the Bed, Bath & Living and Textile Design segments.
Heimtextil Trends 26/27 reveal how artificial intelligence (AI) is set to reshape the textile industry, opening new creative and commercial perspectives through its combination with traditional craftsmanship.
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| The Heimtextil 26/27 colour palette contrasts earthy shades — sand, clay, soot and olive — with vivid digital accents such as acidic green, lilac and screen blue. The result is a dynamic blend of natural calm and synthetic disruption, reflecting the balance between handcraft and high-tech innovation. Photo: Alcova for Heimtextil |
“The trends provide fresh impulses for sustainable production methods, innovative collaboration models and future-proof business strategies,” said Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt.
Heimtextil highlights not only material and aesthetic developments but also a mindful approach to AI in design. Alcova’s curators, Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima, emphasise AI as a complement to human creativity — a tool for relief and inspiration rather than replacement. “We focus on projects that provoke, raise questions and anticipate trends rather than chase them,” Grima noted.
Six key trends illustrate how technology and craftsmanship are converging:
Re: media – Digital renderings meet handcraft, blending pixelated motifs and embroidered textures.
Visible co-work – Designs begin with AI and are completed by hand, merging code and craft.
Sensing nature – Digital tools translate natural patterns such as ocean waves or lichen growth into textile motifs.
A playful touch – Decorative details return, reintroducing joy and spontaneity into functional design.
Crafted irregularity – Visible seams, knots and asymmetry celebrate imperfection as an aesthetic choice.
The uncanny valley – Exposed wires and mechanical forms turn technical components into visible design features.
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