2 min read
“I would sit on the floor with them,” Will Cooper, creative director of The Rug Company, tells ELLE Decor about the brand’s latest collaboration with designer Sir Paul Smith. The textile company has made a name for itself over the last 30 years by working with an array of artists and designers—and Smith is its second-longest-standing collaborator. So when it came to this newest collection, called “Ratio,” both Smith and Cooper saw it as a chance to do things differently and defy expectations.
“It’s simple to the eye if you want it to be, but the depth is there if you want it to be,” Cooper says. “They’re so soft and comfortable. I love sitting on the floor. I love eating on the floor, so they’re very palatable for that type of experience.”
“Being able to expand and bring fresh ideas to this collaboration is fantastic.” —Sir Paul Smith
When thinking of a Paul Smith design, most likely envision the bright colors, crazy stripes, swirls, and whirls characteristic of the almost-80-year-old’s style. Ratio marks a departure from that look. Armed with a mood board built by Smith and centered around the Bauhaus movement, The Rug Company team wove structured lines together to create a restrained collection with a complex patchwork of texture.
“It’s wonderful that we are continuing to work with another British brand,” Smith tells ELLE Decor. “We have been working with The Rug Company for over 20 years now, so being able to expand and bring fresh ideas to this collaboration is fantastic.”
Ratio by Paul Smith x The Rug Company
Open Gallery
In the collection, the team uses multiple weave structures, a first for the company. For the showpiece rug, Takt, the brand created a proprietary one that mixes the Anatolian Tulu style and Persian knot. Alternating rows of flat and pulled wool lend a sumptuous fluff.
“Part of The Rug Company and what we’re able to do is innovate and push technique,” Cooper says. “This is the first time these two knots have been used in conjunction with one another.”
The collection, which Cooper calls “quite young and sexy,” is emblematic of the kind of tone he wants to set in his new role as The Rug Company’s creative director.
“As we go into our 30th year in 2027, there’s something nice about inheriting a heritage component within The Rug Company,” Cooper says. “And then, within that, turning around and flipping it on its head.”