Christopher John Rogers Designed Some Rugs And You’re Gonna Want Them All

117

Designer Christopher John Rogers is known for his bold and dramatic use of color, so you’d expect a rug designed by him to be equally bright and impactful. Yet his new collection for The Rug Company is surprisingly subdued. The colors are there, but they’re much less in your face than his clothing designs might lead you to expect. And yet, they are still just as fabulous as anything on one of his runways.

The collection is comprised of 6 designs and 10 colorways inspired by Roger’s own creative process in his studio, which involves a lot of loose sketching, fluid linework, and happy accidents that are often belied by the graphic impact of the clothes he sends down the catwalk.

“[It] is really about the joy of making; the marks, mistakes, intuitive decisions, and unexpected moments that inject an object with its personality,” says Rogers. “I’ve always been interested in developing work that feels considered but not overly perfect, and in leaving evidence of the hand behind. Discovering how many hands actually touch a single rug at The Rug Company made that idea feel much more meaningful. Ultimately, I want these pieces to become tools for self-articulation—to live with people, be used, and help them build a world that feels distinctly their own.”

“Christopher has such a singular visual language, one that brings together color, gesture, art history and an extraordinary breadth of references,” says Will Cooper, creative director of The Rug Company. “What interested us was how to translate that world into something tactile, while preserving the rawness and humanity of the original gesture. The lines are imperfect, the marks are instinctive, and there is something real and beautiful about allowing those qualities to remain in the finished work. Nothing feels overly polished or perfect.

“Each design called for its own construction, from hand-knotting to braided soumak and flatweave, with the technique becoming integral to the composition itself. It was important to me that we preserve the continuity of the human hand throughout this process, that Christopher’s artistic DNA is carried from the studio, through the hands of the artisans at the mill, and ultimately into the home. The result is something authentic, with all the irregularities and character that make an object feel genuinely alive, and give it a sense of permanence.”

Each rug is handmade in The Rug Company’s mills — from the preparation and dyeing of the fibres to the final finishing touches. They are made of wool and silk and retail for between $85 and $240 per square foot.

Check out the full collection below and shop for yourself at TheRugCompany.com.