ColourNext Spotlights the top four design trends for 2024

The move towards soil as a medium of choice has not been sudden. The world has been building up to the awareness of the agelessness of earthbound materials and their incomparable benefits. Turning to nature, simpler materials and rediscovering their importance today has led to this renaissance. Many have embraced it wholeheartedly, including an Ahmedabad-based restaurant Mitti Ke Rang. Walking the sustainability talk, the restaurant uses native crafts and labour traditions to minimise waste. Its commitment to the environment is also, quite literally, embedded in their walls. Their textured surfaces are all natural, made with a paste comprising turmeric, dye from the palash flower and hay. Contemporising, reinventing and mainstreaming soil is going to be a priority this year.

TREND 2: INTO THE DEEP 

The second forecast builds on this notion by focusing on another element: water. Climate change, rising sea levels, melting ice caps and endangered marine life are grave problems today. ‘Into the Deep’, which dives into all things aquatic and their influence on design springs from this preoccupation. Seaweed-based textiles, recycled plastic from the ocean are all useful innovations.

This year will be all about how awareness meets artistry in inventive ways, an approach that has already created ripples. In fashion, Vaishali Shadangule and Alessandro Giuliani of brand Vaishali S Couture built a dialogue between Indian weaves and marine life motifs. At the just-concluded India Art Fair, Mumbai-based Parag Tandel created a thought-provoking installation that highlighted the city’s alarming ecological shifts. A concrete Bombay duck, silicone rubber floor, bas-relief motifs of indigenous marine life—it was an eye-opening display of human-caused destruction. Nothing like a forceful wake-up call to inspire change.
 

Its appeal caught on with people tired of always being ‘on’: on the go, on the move, on the job, even on social media. Ideas of digital detox, ‘no makeup’ makeup looks, four-day work weeks are all about shelving the stressful hyper-achiever mode. And this not being ‘perfectly put together’ is the mantra that manifests itself in design too. A spectrum of calming colours and earthy shades vie for space with bold and playful hues. All these choices are a pitch for simple comfort, as is the preference for natural materials and organic forms. Wear what please you, live the way you want to and let your person and personal spaces reflect that. Goblin Mode is a license to be free of societal expectations of perfection. This year, just go with your gut and put yourself first.