The luxury market has always looked to the rare and labour intensive to signal status.

Now though, ostentation is being rethought as the affluent pare back to bare, informing a stone age style that rejects the frenetic complexity of the modern world.

The silence of the desert, black basalt cliffs and snow-covered mountains inform an appetite for monolithic stone or wood. 

Stones in their raw form become a source of inspiration with texture and comfort introduced through slubbed textiles and felted surfaces.

Size plays a role in this story, with visually impressive, upscaled structures formed with the intention of subtly marking status. 

The outcome is primal yet elegant.

Plain was first published in MIX Magazine issue 71, and the following material, pattern and finish directions are explored in more detail in our 2024/25 CMF Directions.

 

 

Natural Blur

Colours blend into one another to evoke the organic patterns inherent in nature. Dinosaur Designs’ sepia-toned and marbled resin jewellery pays homage to Australian landscapes and natural materials.

 

 

In textiles, layered effects are created in CMO Paris’ Symphonie de Soies ikat collection.

 

 

Slubbed

 

 

Slubbed finishes are key. DZHUS’ MIGRANT transformer collection features multifunctional pieces with a heavy, textured cosiness. 

 

 

The dappled exterior of Faina’s Soniah Sconce light is made from their sustainable Ztista material and shows similar textural effects in hard surfaces.

 

Natural Fit

 

 

Designs in elemental materials with a stone age simplicity sees a less-is-more approach to process with seamless joinery or materials that effortlessly piece together. Solid Travertino Rosso blocks are masterfully shaped and joined in Studio Bazazo’s Mistral collection of sculptural furniture.

 

 

In an act of balance, wood cradles and supports untouched stone in Given by Sungjang.

 

 

Work with Material and Colour?

Colour Hive membership features our full forecasts including Signals, CMF Directions, Geographic Focus and Colour Impressions. Part Two of our insight for 2025/26 is out now.

Want to know more?

Click below to find out how Colour Hive membership can work for you and download an introduction to Colour Hive membership.

 

 

 

Image credits from top: Dinosaur Designs | Woodland collection | Photo Nick Tsindos; CMO Paris | Symphonie de Soies collection; Jérôme Pereira and Sylvia Eustache Rools | Image courtesy of Galerie Philia; DZHUS | MIGRANT transformer piece | AW 2023 show at Berlin | Photo Daniel Far For NEWEST; FAINA | Soniah collection; Studio Bazazo | Mistral coffee table | Photo Mansour Dib; Sungjang | Given | Image courtesy of Volume Gallery; Ethan Stebbins | Wabi Sabi dovetail bench | Image courtesy of the artist and Les Ateliers Courbet