Get the tribal look

A desire to escape the stress and rigours of modern life is behind one of this year’s strongest trends.

Joanna Feeley, founder of forecasting agency Trend Bible, calls it “Tribal Gathering” and says “It’s about looking to the wisdom of ancient societies with a sense that, by getting close to our natural state, we will become healthier and happier.”

The concept of detoxing from 21st Century life, she says, is providing rich inspiration for a new generation of self-help books, diets and fitness programs. At the same time, palaeolithic and hunter-gatherer cooking, better known as the paleo or caveman diet, is moving to move from niche blogs into the mainstream. It’s also having a big influence on interior design.

Joanna says: “Tribal Gathering embraces a blend of African, native central and south American and indigenous Antipodean influences to capture a sense of global tribalism. The hybrid heritage of this story sees a variety of design styles combine in interesting and unusual ways. This fusion of influences and use of contrasting material and pattern combinations injects a newness into this tribal trend.

“Earthy textures and rustic surfaces appear hand-crafted and decorated with tribal markings. Green succulents, cacti and materials like bamboo and raffia introduce a natural contrast to graphic tribal patterns.”

Trend Bible also believes that the internet has been a key force in driving the fashion. It suggests that social media is making us feel more closely connected to other people around the globe.

“This inter-connectivity breeds a new kind of global tribalism as people begin to look beyond culture and geography to discover the basic human instincts that bind them intrinsically together,” says Joanna.

“Designers look back to ancient traditions to re-invent forgotten techniques and look to the earth for natural minerals, sand and clay as an alternative to ‘fake’ synthetic materials.”

Tribal influences can be seen in the fashion for scratched and scribed surfaces, tribal patterns, tassels on cushions and throws, inky abstracts, cacti and handcrafted items.

All the high street stores have embraced the look. Abigail Ahern’s range for Debenhams features this tribal cushion, £28, while Marks & Spencer has a gorgeous Peruvian-style throw for £35. Another good hunting ground is Traidcraft, which has a great selection of fairly traded cushions, throws, rugs and ceramics.

Joanna Feeley says:: “As the buzz surrounding 3D printing and robotics continues to challenge our perceptions of product design, a contrary movement in favour of traditional crafts is emerging.”