A powerful theme in events is driving some of the year’s hottest trends: Creative Conscious. Most notably, recent high-profile royal weddings featured eco-friendly options like foam-free florals or plastic-free design, demonstrating on an international level how just a little ingenuity can make a world of difference.
This awareness presents an exciting opportunity for us as professionals to evolve and develop new approaches and products that conform to more stringent environmental standards.
Inspired by personalization
In part, the eco trend in events honors a continuing focus on personalization and on what is most important to individual clients. Diana Weinstein of Diana Weinstein Designs finds that creatives are paying particular attention to this concept of customization this year. “I think designers are moving towards designing specifically for clients,” says Weinstein, including their global or ecological sensibilities. Thus, “2019 is all about sustainable and organic materials.”
New waves in eco-style
One way to reduce impact is to use new types of materials. “Major companies are using fibers from recycled plastic bottles to create fabrics for their clothing and furniture lines,” shares Gina Holz of Gina Holz Design, Inc. “Using animal-free leathers and drought-tolerant plants [helps] us do our part to save our planet, and not compromise on style or quality,” she adds.
Photo courtesy Kay Kroshus Photography – www.kaykroshus.com
Upcycled style
Mindy Weiss, owner of Mindy Weiss Party Consultants notes that eco-friendly doesn’t have to have a connotation “budget” or sacrifice. In fact, she sees that clients are “investing more in tabletop than before and renting unique [items].” This plays perfectly into the concept of upcycling or giving antique furnishings a new look and new life, a hugely popular style again this year.
Couples are becoming more and more conscious of the impact their food choices have in a wider context. With a huge number of couples going vegan, or just being more aware of waste, plant-based, sustainable and local is very much on the menu for 2019.
Sustainability & menus
In catering, “a continuing trend is grow/cook/eat local, but local is an ever-evolving theme,” says Trip Wheeler of SB Value. “It can be native ingredients used in a new style to broaden their appeal. Buyers today can’t have too much information about their food.” According to Wheeler, clients want to know every little detail including where their food was raised to what type of fertilizer was used to grow it.
Holly Poulter of Revelry Events agrees, saying, “Couples are becoming more and more conscious of the impact their food choices have in a wider context. With a huge number of couples going vegan, or just being more aware of waste, plant-based, sustainable and local is very much on the menu for 2019.”
The events industry has always been client-driven, and this new trend is exactly that. The global movement towards sustainable and eco-friendly practices like sourcing locally and seasonally, upcycling, and taking responsibility for the future health of our environment is an opportunity we can’t ignore. As creative professionals we have the power to change the face of events now and in the future (and to do it in style!).
