5 Trends you couldn’t miss at Spring Fair

Spring Fair has long been a mainstay in the retail buying calendar and after a years break retailers were ready to get back to buying, and with some gusto! But where the trends that ran through the UK’s largest destination for Home, Gift and Fashion? Spotted by our Head of Content, Suzanne Ellingham, Here are some of the trends you couldn’t miss from the show.

Sustainability

We have all been talking about it for some time, but this year  you couldn’t miss the sustainability credentials displayed loud and proud. Wholesalers have made a concerted effort to reassess their supply chain and the materials they use, and they were not shy about letting buyers know. We all are aware how important this is to consumers, so it was fantastic to see it all over the show. In every category,  throughout home, gift, fashion and noticeably in  the charismas section, There was no shortage of sustainable products to add into ranges.

Dinosaurs and the emergence of Shells .... and Seahorses?

One of the questions that we are always asked is what’s the next unicorn or bee? The icon that is plastered all over gift products and at spring fair this year, it was still dinosaurs. They have been around for a few seasons now, but their gender neutrality and appeal to adults and children alike means Dinosaurs will endure for a little longer. However, Seahorses are showing a glimmer of popularity too. Its not surprising that with all of the press around ocean plastics and  cleaning up the sea that consumers would gravitate towards sea and water motifs… We saw a few things at Autumn Fair… and a bit more at Spring Fair, but we can see this becoming a stayer…

Dried flowers are the new Faux

Floral has been a huge retail trend for the last few years, with the advent of high quality faux floral it became a beautiful yet smart decorative accessory. When Coach House, Hill Interiors and Parlane all launch beautiful faux floral ranges a few years ago, we knew it was here to stay. However, over this year we have seen an emergence of dried floral. With consumers looking for a more natural option dried floral is now going through a bit of a moment, with beautiful displays on show in the living, gift and the floral section  its hard not to see it as the next best seller in this category.

Emergence of sustainable waxes

Candles are a major gifting category and as companies double down on sustainability they are all looking for the next best  wax blend. Soy candles have been a go to, however some negative press in the last few years about the growing of soy plants on an industrial scale we have seen gifting companies diversify their wax blends. We saw  more variety that ever before with Rapeseed and coconut waxes being added into the mix. Those smaller companies truly embracing the luxury and sustainable alternatives

Colour Everywhere.

We all know neutral tones are not going anywhere, those beautiful statement pieces that just need a pop of colour to change the look and feel of a room. However, We saw it at autumn fair and we saw it at Spring Fair, there is a love for Oranges, Yellows, Powder blues. Colour still has a very 80’s vibe however with a big dose of pattern and colour injected. As consumers start to really look towards an optimistic future their colour choices reflect the way that they live. What we saw at Spring fair was an injection of that optimism