Warwick Fabrics designer Luciana Corrales shares her passion for design.

As a leading creative at one of the world’s premier fabric and textile wholesalers, Warwick Fabrics' Luciana Corrales is intimately aware of how our interior space is directly influenced by our external lives.

"I think… because we live such busy lives filled with technology and we’re constantly on the run, people want to fill their interiors with something more soothing, a bit softer," she says.

A moodboard representing the start of the textile design process at Warwick Fabrics’ Melbourne design studio.

The textile designer and product developer speaks with unmistakable passion when asked about the purpose and importance of design. "I think design is really important in society and sometimes we take it a little bit for granted," she says.

"As designers, our job is to create beautiful things that are functional and serve a purpose. For example, when you buy a chair because you like the look of it, it has to be comfortable to sit in."

Taking us through Warwick’s Melbourne studio.

"If you spill something on it, you should be able to wipe it off easily. That’s what design is – it allows you to live in a really beautiful, aesthetic world that’s functional in a way that’s subconscious."

Corrales is committed to creating fabrics that soothe our minds and provide a respite from the working week — doing what homes are meant to do.

You need only ask Corrales about her own working week to understand her humanistic approach to design. "...Warwick is really fast-paced. We are constantly working on lots of different project at once and sometimes 12 months in advance, or more," she says.

"There’s never a dull moment. The great thing about working at Warwick is that we see our projects through from the very start to the very end."

Corrales busy at the cutting table.

Pursuing innovative design also means Corrales is on top of the latest emerging trends in fabric styles, colours, textures, and patterns. Her morning routine consists of a cup of coffee as she pores over her favourite design blogs.

"With fabric styles… particularly in upholstery, we’re seeing demand for more natural fibres and natural fibre content," she explains. "Things like flax, wool, and cotton."

"We travel to fairs and design hubs around the world to do trend research and then we bring back products that fit within the Australian market. From there on we’re designing, doing product development and working with mills from all around the world."

In fact, it was Corrales’s experience of visiting a mill and actually meeting the people who make the products she designs, that she cites as one of the most significant of her career.

As she recounts, seeing her designs be transformed into real materials that could be touched and used in a home informed Corrales of "the capabilities and the restraints" of textile machinery and helped her "design smarter".

Examining pattern intricacies on screen.

She’s also anticipating a shift towards "deeper, richer, earthier colours" and says customers are already gravitating towards "more organic, softer pattern design". As for the industry, digital printing has Corrales excited because of its limitless flexibility.

Despite a bustling schedule and the rapid pace of the industry, Corrales loves the buzz of working at one of the world’s most innovative textile wholesalers, and alongside "Professional, inspiring, [and] customer-focused" partners such as Lovelight, who help realise her work into beautiful design solutions for Australian interiors.

A final collection on display in Warwick’s Melbourne showroom.