Published on : Monday, February 24, 2014
There’s something archaic about carpets. And they don’t just provide warmth: through the ages, they have been a means of transport for cultural knowledge and traditional aesthetics, for stories, rituals and family trees. Or they have served the far more banal purpose of transporting people’s belongings, which were wrapped up in them and loaded onto pack animals or carts.
Today these functions have been lost for the most part. And yet even so, there is still something of the old mystery about carpets. What other explanation is there for the fact that traditional ornamental motifs, colours and patterns from cultures as far apart as Africa and the Far East or Lapland and New Zealand are serving as role models for so many contemporary carpet designs? Artificially faded oriental patterns are adorning big, premium carpets by ultra-modern manufacturers and the designers who work for leading carpet brands are turning to Siamese fabrics, Russian folklore or the culture of the Roma people for inspiration. Desert landscapes and Bedouin clothing are providing the starting point for wool carpets in countless nuances of brown. Turkey red and the red of African tribes are just as likely to turn up as the deep blue of North African cultures or the denim blue of cowboys.
Old weaving techniques are also being rediscovered and reintroduced – either in the form of traditional handmade craftsmanship or in combination with modern production methods. Not infrequently, they are even becoming a style-defining means of expression.
According to trend researcher Lidewij Edelkoort, the new fascination with traditional patterns is rooted in our society’s gradual return to a nomadic way of life. The restless spirit of road movies and the Flower Power culture is returning in the form of fashion, the outdoor cult and RV romanticism. Smartphones and other technical features, as well as the fact that we tend to be strongly rooted in social networks, are leading to a new willingness to travel light. Indeed, we are equipping our cars as if we had to live or even survive in them, and our family lives and professional careers are becoming increasingly unstable too.
Accordingly, says Li Edelkoort, small, multifunctional and mobile furniture is on the increase. What she anticipates for the furniture sector applies doubly to textiles, and above all to carpets, which are experiencing a renaissance as furnishing culture changes. High-quality carpets are not just for collectors any more. As we develop into a society of hunters and gatherers, they are becoming treasures for all of us. And so we are carrying our homes about with us in the form of the carpets we hold dear.
Carpets have survived both the chilliness of the International Style and the craze for wall-to-wall carpeting.
Tags: carpets, Desert landscapes, International Style, Lidewij Edelkoort, North African cultures, Russian folklore, Siamese fabrics
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