On the culminating day of the exhibition "INTERFABRIC 2024. Autumn", which took place within the framework of the Russian Textile and Light Industry Week, a public conversation "Bestsellers of textile design for business" took place. The speakers were Alexandra Kaloshina, founder of Solstudio Textile Group, and Sofia Perina Miller, artist, author of world textile bestsellers. At the end of the event, we asked Alexandra to share her opinion on the advantages of the interactive conversation format and on the secrets and subtleties of creating textile bestsellers.
– Alexandra, please share your impression of the public talk format – do you think communication with the audience was productive?
– Public conversations provide unique opportunities for conducting a session. The flexibility of this format allows you to prepare in advance, create surprises for both the co-host and the audience, as well as react to the reaction of the audience in real time. This allows you to make communication more productive, considering the diverse interests of the audience.
In addition, it is important to be able to balance between different aspects – for example, when an artist wants to talk endlessly about creativity, but the audience is interested in business processes. This allows you to meet the different needs of the audience, providing them with information about both the creative side of the process, as well as monetization and sales.
– You talked about whether trends in textiles work. Obviously, their "job" is in the commercial success of the collections. How to evaluate the effectiveness of this work of trends?
– Trends work, they still work! They accumulate, clarify and clarify the demands of society, the demands of the consumer. That's their job. In turn, analytical companies, including fashion analysts, play an important role in identifying and adapting trends.
They grew out of a textile design studio, their work includes creating fabric drawings, then creating the fabric itself and only then producing clothes. We have just shown the winter collection of 2025-2026, and we are already drawing the collection of the summer of 2026 and developing the winter of 2026-2027. The textile artist must be ahead of everyone!
Thanks to analytical companies and trend research, the textile industry can successfully adapt to changing needs and remain competitive.
Here is a good example: for two seasons we lived with the trend of bright green, neon green as an auxiliary, shading color. And in 2024, one of the American singers released a Bread CD with an acid-green cover, which was to the taste of the public. The consumer was already ready for this, he took it well. This color has become popular, and even hashtags inspired by the disc have appeared.
Also, the Twilight vampire saga was released a few years ago. Everyone was fascinated by this saga, and a dark red, saturated color immediately became fashionable. Blogs discussed what "vampire blood" was, and this heavy red color had already become popular and was associated with blood.
Thus, trends play an important role in shaping fashion and in the successful commercial success of collections, and their effectiveness is assessed by their ability to meet the needs of society and create in-demand and relevant designs.
There is a request for esotericism, mysticism (this has remained with us since post–teen times) - fashion responds to this. If Elon Musk constantly launches new aircraft into space and introduces the fashion for space tourism in the elite, then the theme of extraterrestrial worlds, star travelers, mysterious universes will continue to be relevant in textile motifs. Life itself sets these trends, and they are already "echoing" in our industry.
– Alexandra, what are the points of view among artists on the question of the "new black color"?
– In fact, there are no big social changes, bright or monochrome, just huge opportunities for drawings on fabric. Because, as always, fashion is determined not only by society, but also by industry.
The society responds positively to bright drawings. Now, during the global polycrisis, when we want to please ourselves, refresh ourselves and distract ourselves, bright colors and drawings are quite appropriate.
Fashion in the textile world is not really shaped by artists. The ability to produce different fabrics is what defines fashion. Those who are engaged in textile production define fashion. Let's dig deeper: those who produce machines for the textile industry are the pioneers–the progenitors of all textile design trends. What they can produce, the world will work with.
For example, when the jacquard machine appeared, we had a new stage. Now, with the development of digital printing, we see bright, saturated drawings not only on the catwalks, but everywhere. The annual growth of digitally printed fabrics is about 15% per year, this is a global trend.
– During the public conversation, the topic of sales abroad and the rules of the game of exporters were touched upon. What did you think from the audience's response, how relevant is it now for domestic manufacturers?
– The topic was very responsive to all those gathered at our event. It was considered from two different points of view. Our guest at public talk, Sofia Perina Miller, a world–renowned artist working alone in the entire world space, expressed her opinion, and we, as a studio and as an enterprise, commented on it from our side.
Sofia attracts companies with her style, which corresponds to the philosophy of the choosing company. And we are on the other hand, we work as developers, changing the style of the company under the patronage of the customer or adding notes of freshness and vitality to the existing, established style.
Alexandra Kaloshina is a graduate of Moscow State University, analyst, textile industry expert, founder of Solstudio Textile Group. Lecturer at the Stroganov Moscow State Agricultural University, lecturer at the Higher School of Economics (FCG). The winner of the Ernst & Young Business Women 2019 competition, the winner of the Woman Leader program of the Eurasian Women's Forum. Head of projects related to the restoration of the textile and ornamental heritage of Russia. Member of the jury of the international Arts Thread competition (Great Britain).
Sofia Perina-Miller is a Russian artist working in Scotland. Graduated from the State University of Technology and Design with a diploma of costume designer, Melikova's course/Safronova. Since 1999, he has been living in the UK and working as a textile artist with such well-known companies as Anthrapologie (USA), Papyrus (Canada), All artists label (Australia), St. Vivid (Australia), as well as many others. She is known for her watercolor technique, using a bright palette framed by thin black graphics.
