FRAMED UP - The year 1980 was the height of the clip frame's popularity. Art, posters, and photographs alike were showcased on walls as they were sandwiched between a pristine sheet of glass or acrylic cover and a colored backing which were all held together in its place by either an aluminum or steel clip. Unlike conventional picture frames, the clip frame does not have any visible borders.
Thirty years in its reign as the trend on wall decors, John Lewis, one of United Kingdom's most prominent chain of high-end stores, has decided to end the year with the sales of clip frames put to a halt. The clip frames' slump in sales led John Lewis to the inevitable decision. The retailer further explains the clip frames has started to go out of fashion.
As the clip frames are taken down, however, an emerging new trend starts its reign. "Gallery walls" started taking over homes and bachelor rooms and the social media is aiding the pandemic spread of the chic trend.
Consumers are no longer sticking to a single template, rather they are coming up with different ways to showcase their memories in different framing options ranging from the simplest to the most imaginative forms. No longer are walls limited to picture frames and photographs. Walls are now also adorned with posters, dimensional characters, postcards, plates, mirrors, and for some, upcycled empty picture frames!
According to Katherin Lemin, a wall décor buyer for John Lewis, all of these mix-and-match options are what makes up a gallery wall. Even if digital images are now the default when it comes to photographs, people are still patronizing printed photos.
With this in tow, John Lewis has racked up a 164% increase in sales for their multi-frame packs, all in just one week. Their gallery walls frameset, which comes with a template increased 20% in sales. Other stores such as Habitat reported a 60% increase in their Ontario frames sales. Ikea, on the other hand, has sold more of their picture ledges.
Kate Watson-Smyth, the author of the Mad About The House style blog, warned that unplanned assemblage of a gallery wall within a small space could make turn out to be a disaster instead of a delight as it could crowd the space, making space look smaller and messy as well.
#GalleryWall has become one of the top-ranking and trending hashtags in social media where consumers showcase their gallery walls in their posts.
