With 3,000 exhibitors from 66 countries, Heimtextil opens the 2026 season as the world’s leading trade fair for home textiles, contract textiles, and textile design. Despite economic and geopolitical uncertainty, the fair demonstrates remarkable stability while becoming even more international, strengthening its position as the industry’s primary global marketplace.
The product spectrum spans decorative and upholstery fabrics, bed linen, terry towelling, wallpaper, carpets, and non-textile interior solutions, reflecting the industry’s convergence of textile and architectural design.
At the opening press conference, architect and designer Patricia Urquiola, in conversation with Rosa Bertoli, positioned AI and material innovation as central forces shaping future living environments.
Urquiola’s immersive installation “among-all”, created exclusively for Heimtextil, presents textiles as intelligent, transformative interfaces between people, materials, and machines. The installation incorporates:
- Regenerated nylon
- Textile waste
- Bio-based materials
- AI-driven interaction where visitor movement becomes part of the spatial design
The project reframes textiles not as static surfaces, but as active systems within adaptive interior ecosystems.
In a period of market disruption, Heimtextil positions itself as a strategic orientation platform for the global textile industry.
“While AI is transforming markets, Heimtextil shows how companies can benefit from this technology. As a strategic partner, it highlights business opportunities and future prospects,”
— Detlef Braun, Executive Board Member, Messe Frankfurt
Heimtextil 2026 confirms several structural shifts:
- AI is now integral, not experimental
- Textiles are evolving into smart, adaptive materials
- Interior design is increasingly cross-material and system-based
- Trade fairs must function as knowledge hubs, not just product showcases
