Sunbrella to debut variety of  collections this week at Showtime

Lines from Ruggiero, Frinier debut

-- Casual Living, 12/4/2006 6:33:00 AM

Glen Raven’s Decorative Fabrics collection for this week’s Showtime is centered around the “Life of Leisure,” giving a reminder of how home furnishings not only contribute to comfort, but also help to define lifestyles. 

“Whether you are into exotic destinations or are just looking for fun, playful patterns, you will find something appealing in our ‘Life of Leisure’ collection,” said Gina Wicker, design director for Glen Raven Custom Fabrics, the makers of Sunbrella fabrics. “Each of our five groups has a distinct point of view to reflect individual lifestyles.”  Collections include World Market, a group rich in texture and pattern from exotic destinations from around the world. Leading this group is Heiress, an intricately designed Jacobean floral featuring a textured overlay to add a sense of history. Complementary patterns include Bengal, a wide bar stripe in henna and warm browns accented with a deep brown chenille, and Meridian in Espresso, a solid chambray body cloth also in rich brown. Easy Does It includes island textures combined with lush, tropical jacquards to create a look that would be at home in the city or on the coast. The Pacific Fusion group draws inspiration from Eastern cultures to create a look with Zen sensibilities. Find inner peace with Camelot, a classic diamond pattern with a rich red border and a hint of texture, Peking, a traditional mirror stripe on a brown ground with accents of red and gold, and Thailand, a damask texture reminiscent of ancient ikat fabric. Fun, playful patterns dominate the Happy Hour group, which is perfect for contemporary living spaces or to add an element of surprise to more tailored settings. Offerings include Ring Toss, overlapping circles and rings in shades of blue accented with lime green, Celebration, a line-drawn floral in a flowing modern interpretation, and Limbo, a large-scale bar stripe in alternating weaves for added dimension. Closing out the collection is High Style, which is a sophisticated take on traditional ironwork elements combined with woven textural patterns to appeal to a classic sense of style. Lead patterns include Mackenzie, an elaborate leaf and scroll pattern inspired by neoclassic ironwork, Woodbridge, a large-scale traditional stripe with a grid texture overlay, and McDowall, a graphic damask pattern inspired by iron finials. 
      
Also introduced is an extensive collection from Richard Frinier. A 25-year career of globe trekking in search of design inspirations is evident throughout Frinier's Sunbrella line.   “The specific design inspirations are too numerous to name – Japanese cherry blossom trees, Ancient Chinese geometric patterns, palm tree fronds in the tropics and hand-woven patterns used for basketry and mats across the islands of Oceania,” Frinier said. “These are just a few of the images I have captured in these new fabrics. “For me, the most important thing is that people make a connection with my fabrics and that I create a personal experience for them,” he said. “Everyone draws from their home environment, and I want those environments to be enriched and inspired.”  The December 2006 Showtime represents the third collection Frinier has created for Sunbrella, offering more than 160 fabric SKUs that have attracted a growing number of furniture manufacturers in search of tonal textures, smart use of color and an overall sense of intuitive design for today’s lifestyles. As an award-winning recognized designer for the home industries for more than 25 years and the former creative director for Brown Jordan, Frinier is known for his ability to marry his innovative furniture frames with his luxurious performance fabrics to create a total look.  Frinier is unveiling 10 new patterns in High Point in December – Sakura, Ming, Coconut Grove, Plantation, Sisalana, Areca, Fiji, Kiribati, Polynesia and Samoa.  

Lastly, reflecting the diversity of consumer tastes and interests, Glen Raven will unveil five of Joe Ruggiero’s diverse fabric collections. 

“People ask us all the time what is the hot trend in home furnishings today, and the answer is there is no single hot trend,” said Joe Ruggiero, a leading home furnishings designer with a Sunbrella fabrics collection. “There are a great number of trends attracting the attention of consumers, and we have fabrics for all of the different ways that people live and decorate their homes today.” Ruggiero’s introductions for December Showtime include Exotic Lands, Color Country, Menswear, Provence and Park Avenue, running the design gambit from bright and colorful to urban sophisticated and virtually everything in between. For more on Showtime, see Casual Living's January issue.