Scan the aisles of any shoe store or the racks of any clothing outlet, and you’ll quickly notice a pattern or trend. Whether in colors similar in hue or in shirts identical in style, these runway inspired looks influence everything from the way we dress to the way we decorate our homes—including our outdoor spaces. the Phifer Inc. design team, currently in the midst of a busy development season, uses similar cues to help create new outdoor-furniture fabrics for each season and to provide programs that complement customers’ products and address their needs.

Spring is the most creative time. Months of research (including travel to key trade shows and conferences such as Maison & Objet and Casual Market Chicago) culminate in the creation of color palettes and key pattern motifs that the designers anticipate will have the broadest appeal.

These palettes are used to generate custom offerings of more than 300 Phifertex® outdoor and GeoBella® indoor/outdoor high-performance fabrics. they are given consideration in a stocking program in which customers can purchase rolled goods directly from Phifer. Monica Thornton, design director, notes that Midcentury looks are trending this season. She adds, “you can expect to see more organic shapes as geometrics and a sleek, modern approach to color.”

Keep an eye out for this look and other styles as influences on Phifer’s bustling Fall fabrics range, a comprehensive line of color presented to customers during the fall season. In these meetings, customers can select fabrics to be produced in custom programs that give them exclusivity for these designs. the design team also works closely with customers to identify any new manufacturing concepts that will require the development of new fabrics.