Cersaie is well-known as a source for exploring the latest innovations within the tile industry, and the trends to look out for in the year ahead – the 2023 edition – were no exception. Visitors were treated to products that showcased bold colours and patterns, new technologies and finishes from extra soft finishes with high slip resistance to glossy matte effects.
The rise of colour
At this year’s Cersaie show, colour was a powerful protagonist on porcelain as well as ceramic tiles. Atlas Concorde focussed on a vast neutral colour palette, while Tonalite embraced joyful colour. Blue, green and terracotta each found expression. Presented in matt, glossy and semi-matt, each finish presents the colours in new ways.
3D explosion
Ogi Bianco (Ceramica Fioranese).
After decades of innovating in two dimensions, producing thousands of tiles in unique formats, thicknesses and patterns, brands are looking at 3D as the next frontier in design. Mostly presented in wall tiles, designs featured fluted surfaces and protruding geometries to reliefs with explosive patterns that, when combined with light, create a constantly changing surface.
As manufacturers work towards producing tiles that look and feel like natural stone, high-definition marble prints are now paired with low-relief veining for incredibly realistic marble looks.
High on detail
From misty forests to overlapping sheets of corrugated metal, Italian manufacturers are producing a range of mind-blowing optical illusions on porcelain. One of the oldest tricks in the book, used in everything from painting and sculpture to architecture and set design since antiquity, trompe l’oeil offers an exciting opportunity for tile companies to create the look of three-dimensional spaces using two-dimensional surfaces.
These digitally printed tiles give the technical benefits of porcelain with hyper-realistic designs – one can imagine a shower enclosed by billowy drapes or the floors of a spa covered in grooved wood planks.
The Italian Landscape Collection, a collaboration between Fioranese and 23Bassi Architecture Firm.
Digitally printed designs that look like nature and its elements, water and clouds. Elements Acqua, designed by Seletti (Ceramica Bardelli).
Architectural inspiration
With tile being an historically integral part of buildings, it’s no surprise that architecture is a muse for tile manufacturers, which was heavily evident at Cersaie. On one hand, Italian brands partnered with industry heavyweights, including Zaha Hadid Architects, Nendo and Paola Navone, to add a disruptive element to a classic shape or a poetic layer to the surface.
On the other hand, many companies were inspired by historic buildings and architectural details – from stained glass and milled panels to Byzantine cut mosaics and the floor of the Eden Theatre in Treviso.
Stone reimagined
The allure of natural stone propelled tile manufacturers to render the rich veining of marble and the brilliance of onyx and gemstones onto tiles. However, this year brands turned up the volume, finding the rarest of stones – from quartzite to exclusive cuts of Calacatta, or creating evocative amalgamations of stone with bright colours and luminous veins conjuring scenes of the cosmos.
The addition of innovations such as soft finishes with high slip resistance, relief-matching graphics and through-body veining makes porcelain stone-look tiles even more appealing for architecture and design.
Innovations in tile design showcased at Cersaie focussed on colour, 3D surfaces, trompe l’oeil, architectural inspiration and a revival of stone patterns.
Full acknowledgement and thanks go to https://www.ceramica.info/ for the information in this editorial. For additional products and inspiration, visit the product gallery.
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