Trend Alert: Refined Raffia

1. Chanel runway (Photo by Karl Prouse/Catwalking/Getty Images); 2. Williams Sonoma-Home Hampstead Raffia Desk ($1,450); 3. Pottery Barn Raffia Trunk ($799); 4. Tory Burch Jelly Raffia Flat ($110); 5.Ballard Designs Manguiere Table Lamp ($299); 6. Raffia Crochet Cowboy Hat ($98)

Have you checked out The Insider Source?
I was quoted today on RAFFIA and how it is a trend to watch.

Loved by: San Francisco-based decorator (and popular design blogger) Grant K. Gibson (who we've previously heard from on The Inside Source) is a major champion of the all-natural fiber: "I love the texture of raffia, which feels rustic but tailored at the same time." He also points out its versatility, saying, "Since it is neutral in color, it can blend into almost any interior."


The look: Made of woven palm leaves indigenous to tropical climes, raffia has balmy, warm weather connotations that make it especially perfect for the coming season.

Seen in: Karl Lagerfeld debuted raffia adorned cocktail dresses at Chanel's pastoral-themed spring runway show in Paris, igniting the trend in the fashion world. Tory Burch follows up with a chicly irreverent jelly flat, embellished with a straw pom pom in cement grey. Meanwhile, Bop Basics, the in-house label for shopping site Shopbop.com, uses raffia to give a classic cowboy hat a beachy twist. On the home front, the material takes on a stately, handsome vibe applied to items ranging from the shade on a sleek mango wood table lamp from Ballard Designs to Pottery Barn's colonial-looking steamer trunk to an exotic, bamboo-legged writing desk from Williams-Sonoma Home.