Trend Report: Game Room

The innovations by MEC are explored in regular updates that examine new developments in stitch, yarn, fiber, engineering and technical knowledge for the circular knitting market.

Once quaintly referred to as the den or playroom, the game room now is light years away from what many of us or our parents grew up with at home. Often located in the basement or perhaps over the garage, it was a place where kids and teens could gather and play boardgames, read a book or watch a movie, safe from the intervention of parents for the most part. As video games have grown in popularity and stature over the years, it is no longer just kids who are engaging in these games, and as such the game room is evolving to reflect this.

While the term gamer can conjure up a lone figure hunched over the computer for the uninitiated, the reality is that it is a vibrant and social hobby for many people, with friends often gathering to play video games in the evenings after work. Apart from the kids and teens playing there is an entire generation who revel in spending hours playing online, and who want an appropriately adult environment to do it in as their spending power grows.

Looking towards the patterns and colors found in the digital world, we imagine textiles that reflect the pixelated motifs that are discovered in a macro zoom of the screen. Mixing muted neons with black evoke the nocturnal worlds long associated with online gaming, while flexible and stretch materials in the garments and upholstery encourage a new direction in homewares.