The world of antique dealing might seem to be above interior design fads, but decorating styles popular at the moment will certainly motivate some shoppers to seek out antique pieces that reinforce the trend.
However, buying on-trend antique furnishings does not guarantee those pieces will appreciate or even hold their value. Tastes inevitably change over time. Still, it is worth keeping an eye on trends to try to anticipate the next big thing in home fashion. This will enable you to buy antique furnishings before the trend takes off and prices become inflated.
Although the official definition of an antique is something that is at least 100 years old, it is now commonplace for high-quality items that do not hit the 100-year mark to be referred to as antiques. And according to Helen Edwards Public Relations, 20th-century furniture, particularly from the 1920s and 1930s, was particularly popular at the Brussels Antique and Fine Arts Fair (Brafa) in January.
Art deco pieces have risen in popularity as well as value recently, partly due to the revival of the flapper/charleston style in the Spring/Summer 2012 collections of designers such as Gucci, Etro, Marc Jacobs, Roberto Cavalli and Ralph Lauren. This year's successes of the French film The Artist, set in Hollywood between 1927 and 1932, has also strengthened the fascination with deco and led to a wider appreciation of the designs of this period, which include elegant furniture, lighting, textiles and decorative accessories.
And the present infatuation with the Roaring Twenties has not peaked yet. The big-screen adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, scheduled for December, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan in the lead roles, will undoubtedly extend the appeal of the Jazz Age look and firmly position it as one of the key vintage-revival styles in both fashion and furnishings well into 2013.
Fabulous furniture pieces of the period are still available - like the 1920 chair by Louis Süe and André Mare from Galerie Marcilhac (Paris). It would add an "in the know" sophistication to any room scheme.
So what is the next big vintage-revival trend to watch for? I am on the lookout for Finn Juhl furniture, a cocktail cabinet and a Stilnovo chandelier from the 1950s. Prada's Spring/Summer 2012 advertising campaign is set around a 1950s Americana road trip concept, and features their Cadillac-inspired stilettos and this year's must-have cat's eye sunglasses, which is sure to strengthen a burgeoning Fifties revival.
For more on the 2013 edition of Brafa visit www.brafa.be.
Victoria Redshaw is the managing director of Scarlet Opus. For more information visit www.trendsblog.co.uk or twitter.com/scarletopus
