Li Edelkoort - Formex Guest Influencer

Li Edelkoort is one of the world’s best-known trend analysts, working across many different industries such as fashion, interior design, cosmetics, retail and food. On August 20-23, 2019, she was invited to Formex for the second time – this time as a Formex Guest Influencer. Li has previously visited Formex as a trend speaker, but this time, together with Philip Fimmano, creative director of Edelkoort Inc, he created a unique inspirational exhibition at Stockholmsmässan’s entrance square – the largest in the history of Formex.

During Formex 20-23 August 2019, the inherent power of things was highlighted in a unique exhibition created by Li Edelkoort. The exhibition, which filled the entire entrance hall of Stockholmsmässan, was inspired by animism – the belief that even things can be animated.

– We are incredibly proud to be able to collaborate with a world-class name like Li Edelkoort, and to have her create and curate this exhibition directly for us! “It is very unusual for Li to undertake this kind of tailor-made assignment,” says Formex’s former project manager Christina Olsson.

Li’s trend book is used by designers all over the world.
Born in 1950 in Wageningen, the Netherlands, Li Edelkoort began her successful career as a fashion manager at De Bijenkorf department store in Amsterdam. After graduating from ArtEZ University, Li moved to Paris in the 1970s where she started her own trend agency, Trend Union, which now has offices in New York and Tokyo. Every two years they publish the world’s most influential trend book used by designers and marketers at many well-known international brands from Coca Cola to Gucci. In 2011, Li launched the social media platform TrendTablet. She has been listed as one of the world’s most influential trend gurus and designers by magazines such as i-D and Time magazine.

Li Edelkoort himself was very much looking forward to creating an exhibition especially for Formex.
– The Formex fair has an aura of optimism and joy that is not found at many other commercial events of this kind. There is a pleasant flow, a friendly presence of people, well-made objects and a genuine sense of hospitality.

Can you tell us a bit about your exhibition – what did the visitor experience?
– Our exhibition was almost a spiritual experience at the entrance to the fair and served as a guide to alternative shopping. With a strong focus on the emotional values of goods and materials, we hope to convey some of the beauty and energy that can be found in everyday objects. We respectfully gathered the designed objects of different exhibitors and allowed them to be viewed in a calm and healing environment, as if you were meeting them for the very first time.

The exhibition was inspired by ‘animism’, what does this term mean to you?
– The idea that we are all sentient beings who are naturally connected brings the idea of animism into the light and looks back to the most primitive rites before the age of religions; the veneration of the forest and the wild, the river and the mountain, the shadow and the twig. Even clouds and words can become objects of worship. As the overall theme of Formex 2019 was materials, we wanted to explore the ideas behind the new materialism, a current philosophical concept that analyzes the power of all matter and puts forward the idea that all materials are alive and have a legitimate existence, just like animals and humans.