July 2005 • Features
Softening the Edges
A roundup of textiles debuted at NeoCon—by the likes of Bruce Mau and Shashi Caan—challenge the staid contract market.
By Metropolis Staff
Posted June 13, 2005
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The textile industry is reaching out to an intriguing group of designers that you wouldn’t necessarily associate with its often staid and traditional products. Can the likes of Bruce Mau and Shashi Caan give contract carpet and fabrics a long overdue makeover?
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Translations
Shashi Caan Collective
Karastan Contract, The Mohawk Group
No one ever accused Shashi Caan of lacking ambition. When Tom Lape, president of the Mohawk Group, approached her about creating a new line of contract carpets, she saw an opportunity: “I was intrigued because the company reaches a huge segment of the market. And I believe designed environments that impact the most people have the most responsibility. With a company like Mohawk, a small shift in emphasis—toward design, for instance—creates a large ripple effect on the whole industry.”
The four-pattern collection Translations is a collaboration between Caan, Mohawk’s in-house design team, and the company’s technical staff. “They were essential,” Caan says of the technicians. “They understand the art of making carpet on a massive scale.” Using transparent and metallic yarns, the loom technicians experimented with different pile heights to create almost three-dimensional textures. “Walking on a woven fabric is a tactile experience,” Caan says. “My goal here was to push the design envelope incrementally and provide an incentive for them to work with design in the future. The craft of weaving is an ancient art. Personally I think hard flooring is trendy. I’m convinced that our ancestors threw furs on their cave floors. That essential connection will always be with us.” —Martin C. Pedersen
Shashi Caan Collective
Karastan Contract, The Mohawk Group
No one ever accused Shashi Caan of lacking ambition. When Tom Lape, president of the Mohawk Group, approached her about creating a new line of contract carpets, she saw an opportunity: “I was intrigued because the company reaches a huge segment of the market. And I believe designed environments that impact the most people have the most responsibility. With a company like Mohawk, a small shift in emphasis—toward design, for instance—creates a large ripple effect on the whole industry.”
The four-pattern collection Translations is a collaboration between Caan, Mohawk’s in-house design team, and the company’s technical staff. “They were essential,” Caan says of the technicians. “They understand the art of making carpet on a massive scale.” Using transparent and metallic yarns, the loom technicians experimented with different pile heights to create almost three-dimensional textures. “Walking on a woven fabric is a tactile experience,” Caan says. “My goal here was to push the design envelope incrementally and provide an incentive for them to work with design in the future. The craft of weaving is an ancient art. Personally I think hard flooring is trendy. I’m convinced that our ancestors threw furs on their cave floors. That essential connection will always be with us.” —Martin C. Pedersen
Photo: Sara Barrett
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