Two new sculptures, a cute name – and a considerably bigger trade-fair story behind them. Patricia Urquiola’s “Bambi” will gain two companions at Heimtextil 2027 and move into the Trend Space curated by Alcova. More interesting than the small family of creatures, however, is what the fair is building around them: its gradual shift from a traditional home-textile show towards a broader platform for interiors, contract business, materials and staging.
The timing is not accidentally favourable – or, depending on perspective, necessary. Germany’s home and household textiles market has been under pressure for years. According to IFH Köln, market volume fell another 1.2 percent in 2025 to €8.7 billion. The researchers also expect a moderately declining market through 2030. In that environment, a trade fair trying to sell exhibition space, reach new target groups and retain international suppliers cannot simply rely on showing more of the same.
That is why Heimtextil’s development over recent years is economically more interesting than many of its trend themes. The “Carpets & Rugs” segment has been expanded substantially and, according to the organiser, tripled its exhibitor count in 2025. In 2026, “Flooring & Equipment” added non-textile flooring such as parquet, laminate, LVT, cork and outdoor surfaces for the first time. Frankfurt is therefore claiming considerably more territory than fabrics, bedding and decoration: the fair wants to cover a larger share of interior design.
Heimtextil still commands considerable international reach in doing so. Around 48,000 visitors attended the 2026 edition, with the organiser reporting an international visitor share of 86 percent. The proportion of top-level decision-makers was put at 78 percent. Those figures do not reveal how many orders were ultimately written on the exhibition floor. They do, however, help explain why the event remains attractive to suppliers from adjacent interior sectors.
That radius will widen again in 2027. On the first two days of Heimtextil, 12 and 13 January, Hospitality Interiors Europe will launch in Frankfurt. The independent event is organised by Heimtextil partner Strive Exhibitions, founded by Toby Walters and Sam Murray, the initiators of Cruise Ship Interiors Expo. HINT targets markets including hotel & resort, restaurant & bar, branded residences, senior living, spa & wellness and extended stay. Strategically, the partnership gives Heimtextil additional points of contact with hospitality and contract audiences without making Hospitality Interiors Europe a Messe Frankfurt event.
Frankfurt is not alone in making this move – and Hanover in particular illustrates the pressure facing established trade-fair models. Domotex repositioned itself in 2026 as the “Home of Flooring & Interior Finishing”, extending its traditional flooring portfolio into additional areas of interior finishing. The relaunch, however, came from a markedly smaller base: around 1,000 exhibitors from 60 countries and roughly 18,000 visitors attended in 2024, compared with just over 500 exhibitors from more than 50 countries and around 12,500 visitors in 2026. Domotex has also moved to a biennial cycle. Frankfurt is moving from textiles into the room, Hanover from flooring into the room – and both are looking for additional relevance beyond their traditional territory.
There is a second competition too: the fight for exhibitors’ marketing budgets. According to AUMA’s Exhibitor Outlook 2026/27, 64.1 percent of surveyed companies identify rising costs as the biggest challenge to their trade-fair planning. Another 27.7 percent increasingly have to justify exhibition participation internally against digital marketing tools. Under those conditions, a hall full of products is increasingly insufficient. Trade-fair organisers need to enable contacts and business, but they also have to produce content, imagery and experiences that can be extended into digital channels.
This is where Alcova and Patricia Urquiola enter the picture. Alcova is curating the Heimtextil Trends 27/28 under the title “Home-Maxxing – The Performance of Everyday Living”, while Urquiola is bringing her own language of materials and form directly into the same Trend Space for the first time. It is a design programme, but it is also attention economics. An internationally recognised name and an unusual installation turn an abstract trend theme into something that can be photographed, discussed and circulated well beyond the four days of the fair.
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Two new sculptures, a cute name – and a considerably bigger trade-fair story behind them. Patricia Urquiola’s “Bambi” will gain two companions at Heimtextil 2027 and move into the Trend Space curated by Alcova. More interesting than the small family of creatures, however, is what the fair is building around them: its gradual shift from a traditional home-textile show towards a broader platform for interiors, contract business, materials and staging.
The timing is not accidentally favourable – or, depending on perspective, necessary. Germany’s home and household textiles market has been under pressure for years. According to IFH Köln, market volume fell another 1.2 percent in 2025 to €8.7 billion. The researchers also expect a moderately declining market through 2030. In that environment, a trade fair trying to sell exhibition space, reach new target groups and retain international suppliers cannot simply rely on showing more of the same.
That is why Heimtextil’s development over recent years is economically more interesting than many of its trend themes. The “Carpets & Rugs” segment has been expanded substantially and, according to the organiser, tripled its exhibitor count in 2025. In 2026, “Flooring & Equipment” added non-textile flooring such as parquet, laminate, LVT, cork and outdoor surfaces for the first time. Frankfurt is therefore claiming considerably more territory than fabrics, bedding and decoration: the fair wants to cover a larger share of interior design.
Heimtextil still commands considerable international reach in doing so. Around 48,000 visitors attended the 2026 edition, with the organiser reporting an international visitor share of 86 percent. The proportion of top-level decision-makers was put at 78 percent. Those figures do not reveal how many orders were ultimately written on the exhibition floor. They do, however, help explain why the event remains attractive to suppliers from adjacent interior sectors.
That radius will widen again in 2027. On the first two days of Heimtextil, 12 and 13 January, Hospitality Interiors Europe will launch in Frankfurt. The independent event is organised by Heimtextil partner Strive Exhibitions, founded by Toby Walters and Sam Murray, the initiators of Cruise Ship Interiors Expo. HINT targets markets including hotel & resort, restaurant & bar, branded residences, senior living, spa & wellness and extended stay. Strategically, the partnership gives Heimtextil additional points of contact with hospitality and contract audiences without making Hospitality Interiors Europe a Messe Frankfurt event.
Frankfurt is not alone in making this move – and Hanover in particular illustrates the pressure facing established trade-fair models. Domotex repositioned itself in 2026 as the “Home of Flooring & Interior Finishing”, extending its traditional flooring portfolio into additional areas of interior finishing. The relaunch, however, came from a markedly smaller base: around 1,000 exhibitors from 60 countries and roughly 18,000 visitors attended in 2024, compared with just over 500 exhibitors from more than 50 countries and around 12,500 visitors in 2026. Domotex has also moved to a biennial cycle. Frankfurt is moving from textiles into the room, Hanover from flooring into the room – and both are looking for additional relevance beyond their traditional territory.
There is a second competition too: the fight for exhibitors’ marketing budgets. According to AUMA’s Exhibitor Outlook 2026/27, 64.1 percent of surveyed companies identify rising costs as the biggest challenge to their trade-fair planning. Another 27.7 percent increasingly have to justify exhibition participation internally against digital marketing tools. Under those conditions, a hall full of products is increasingly insufficient. Trade-fair organisers need to enable contacts and business, but they also have to produce content, imagery and experiences that can be extended into digital channels.
This is where Alcova and Patricia Urquiola enter the picture. Alcova is curating the Heimtextil Trends 27/28 under the title “Home-Maxxing – The Performance of Everyday Living”, while Urquiola is bringing her own language of materials and form directly into the same Trend Space for the first time. It is a design programme, but it is also attention economics. An internationally recognised name and an unusual installation turn an abstract trend theme into something that can be photographed, discussed and circulated well beyond the four days of the fair.