Heimtextil international trade fair for home and contract textiles in Frankfurt am Main has for the second time presented an award for young people, which focuses on the principle of sustainability.

Three young designers from Stuttgart University of Technology, Weissensee Art Academy and Coburg University received their awards at a ceremony on the first day of the fair that takes place from 8-11 January.

A jury of upcycling and design experts chose Jacqueline Theurer from Stuttgart as the winner. Heimtextil will also give a special award, as visitors and exhibitors of the trade fair will vote for their favourite projects before the fair closes on Saturday.

Interplay of colours

“Whether in the world of fashion or interior design, upcycling is extremely cool. With this competition for young people, Heimtextil aims to promote young design talents at the same time as drawing the attention of visitors and exhibitors to the principle of sustainability and the circular economy”, explained Heimtextil Director Ulrike Wechsung. With over 40 entries, the competition aroused great interest among young designers and interior architects.

The jury of experts was particularly impressed by the ‘un Tragbar – un Carrieble’ project of budding interior architect Jacqueline Theurer, who created a chair using colourful textile scraps held together by a tension belt. The experts were delighted by the interplay of colours of the textile seat and the ingeniously simple design principle of the chair.

Innovative and creative

Additionally, the Heimtextil management presented two commendations. Irita Ozolina of Weissensee Art Academy was chosen for her ‘Static Loop’ project: using grey board, a recycled material, she has produced an upgraded fabric with undreamt of variety of applications. She used two textile technologies: a laser process and a weaving technique. “The result is a textile surface with sensational supplementary functions that can do more than just divide a room,” the judges said.

The second commendation went to David Küffner of Coburg University for an aspect of his ‘Drucha’ project: a lamp made using a wire clothes hanger. This project is also the result of an outstanding upcycling process: to this end, a wire clothes hanger was given a new shape and, at the same time, a new, astonishing purpose. The lamp thus created is distinguished by a reduced, perfectly throughout design.

www.heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com