Surprise: a speaker dating from a hundred years ago shows that audio transducers were once centrepieces of style. So why not today purposefully include speakers wrapped in brightly coloured acoustic fabric in your interior design, instead of hiding them away as unsightly box?
Our company is based in South Hesse, which is not only home to apple cider and top-tier bike production, but also to world‑renowned Art Nouveau ("Jugendstil") architecture. The Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, with its iconic Wedding Tower, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021.Nearby, the Sprudelhof in Bad Nauheim, the largest coherent Art Nouveau spa complex in Europe, icaptivates visitors with its architectural harmony and attention to detail. In the Jugendstilforum there, everyday items and works of art from that period reveal the aesthetic and societal transformation taking place at the time.
Radical thinking a century ago
More than a century has passed, yet this era still resonates today. It was an age marked by technological breakthroughs, profound social change and a growing confidence among artists and designers who rejected outdated styles and embraced new forms. Known as Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Secession style or Arts & Crafts
depending on the region, the movement vigorously challenged conservative aesthetics.
What now appears ornamental was once a radical rebellion: flowing, organic shapes, stylised nature motifs and a new language of materials suitable for the industrial age. At the same time, many advocated celebrating technology rather than concealing it. New materials, serial production and modular design emerged and matured. Peter Behrens’s work exemplifies this era and still influences modern design.A stunning Art Nouveau showpiece: the Radiolavox speaker
One striking example in the Bad Nauheim exhibition is a French Radiolavox speaker from the late 1920s. From today’s perspective it looks like a work of art rather than mere audio equipment.
It is a fully open dipole speaker in technical terms: notably its freely suspended coil and magnet, exemplifying early use of electrically amplified systems. And the vivid red diaphragm closely resembles our raspberry‑red acoustic fabric. Although black and beige versions existed, the bright red was not an afterthought. 
It was a deliberate choice to create a speaker that would stand out rather than shrink into the background.Speaker design through the decades
Aesthetic tastes changed quickly, however. A few years later, speakers were concealed in enclosures reminiscent of mantel clocks, and technology was hidden rather than exhibited. The 1940s and 1950s ushered in large, ornate, chunky valve radios with ivory buttons and gilded trim. In Germany, this kind of elaborate, but somewhat questionable post-WWII style earned the ironic nickname “Gelsenkirchen Baroque.”Only in the early 1960s did audio design return to minimalist, function-driven forms. Dieter Rams’s Braun designs were groundbreakingly simple, clear, and utterly functional. Since then, although technology has evolved, design has remained conservative: most speakers are still rectangular boxes – usually black or walnut-finished, with black or anthracite-coloured acoustic fronts. White is already considered bold, and more daring colours are almost exclusively reserved for high-end or custom-built systems. As a result, most speakers appear out of place in modern interiors, unable to harmonize neither subtly nor strikingly with their surroundings. Yet the Radiolavox clearly shows that colourful speakers are everything but a design faux pas. Instead, colour can be part of a progressive, design-conscious concept.
Modern, personalised design with acoustic fabric
This belief is exactly why we offer our speaker fabrics in a wide range of colours. 
You can choose to blend a speaker into your decor or help it stand out in a playful contrast. Beyond our 45 standard shades we offer bespoke colour matching to meet your exact needs.A modern example of well-integrated speakers is the IKEA Symfonisk, an ultra-flat wall-mounted Wi‑Fi speaker. While the default graphic front can be debated, our custom-printed acoustic fabrics offer a high-style upgrade without compromising sound transparency.
So, here is our invitation: dare to break away from speaker uniformity. Design your speakers with our fabrics as the visible statement they deserve: an expression of your personal style and appreciation for great sound.