Organic shapes and earth colours prove key influences for Spain's textile designers, for the coming season.

HIJOS DE ANTONIO FERRE

Hijos de Antonio Ferre, one of Spain’s best known textile companies, which has built its reputation on the quality of its linens and cottons. The company dates back to 1914 and is based in Bañeres de Mariola in Alicante, the heart of one of the country’s main textile manufacturing bases.

Antonio Ferre manufactures upholstery textiles from cotton, linen and jute in both classic and contemporary designs. It also produces an extensive collection of decorative fabrics including voiles made from linen or linen mix, both plain and patterned.

Its latest collections have been in keeping with the demand for neutral but textured fabrics and its silver and gold coloured linens are also selling well.

PEPE PEÑALVER

Madrid-based Pepe Peñalver has long been at the forefront of the high-end Spanish textile market. José E Carrasco Peñalver founded the company in 1964. The company is a leading editor and wholesaler of fabrics to the interior design industry within Spain and around the world. It has its own team of textile designers but it also works with freelance designers to achieve a varied portfolio.

Pepe Peñalver offers a huge range of printed and woven fabrics, many of which are made from natural fibres such as linen, cotton and silk. Its colour palette is a particular trademark. It develops colours inspired by Mediterranean culture, such as rich greens, blues and reds.But it has been adding a more subtle, neutral palette of colours to recent collections.

The company has showrooms in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Paris. However, it exports all over the world, serving both domestic and contract markets. It also has a contracts division to handle jobs for the hotel and leisure sector.

The new 2008 collections comprise designs inspired by the African culture, printed velvets and technicals fabrics made of innovative fibres.

YBARRA & SERRET

Ybarra & Serret is one of Spain’s leading textile companies. A strong presence in European markets, its fabrics are charactised by a bold use of colour.

Our company’s main strength is its printed textiles,’ says Pilar Serret, co-founder or Ybarra & Serret, emphatically. ‘Oh, and loads of colour. A huge variety of it.’ The company, which was founded with the aim of designing, editing and manufacturing high quality fabrics for all interior design purposes, has a strong international presence. Serret co-founded the company in 1998 with designer Coqui Ybarra.

While their firm specialises in printed and woven textiles made from natural fibres, the aim is to create fabrics that look convincingly handprinted, even if they are, in fact, machine-printed. Colour is a key element to their work. The fabrics themselves have become increasingly sumptuous and lustrous.

But Ybarra & Serret values pragmatism as much as artistry. Durability is a major selling point, hence fabrics can be ordered in many finishes (sanforised, stain-resistant, fireresistant), all designed to meet heavy-duty industrial regulations.