24 EXPOSE
Collaboration enhances contemporary signature High-end hand-woven rug manufacturer La Manufacture Cogolin has collaborated with Architect Laurent Buttazzoni to present three graphic and playful rugs, Syracuse, Modica and Noto.
T
he French Cogolin rug factory was purchased by Textile Engineer Jean Lauer in 1928, just a stone’s throw away from Saint-Tropez. Immediately, Lauer set about transforming his new acquisition from a factory specialising in silkworm culture and hand-knotted rugs into a workshop for innovation. He installed 19th century mechanical jacquard looms and imported a host of new techniques for knotting and weaving. These advances enabled the factory to produce a wider variety of rugs and led to Cogolin’s increasingly widespread recognition throughout the 1930s as a leading creator of bespoke products.
INEX-ONLINE.COM
Cogolin’s creations would soon be found gracing some of the world’s most prestigious interiors, from Versailles, to the Élysée, to the most luxurious French ocean liners. This acclaim also led to collaborations with some of the most celebrated artists and decorators across Europe, such as Jules Leleu, Jean-Michel Franck, Christian Bérard, Sir David Hicks and Jean Cocteau. The models created in partnership with these legendary figures continue to line the La Manufacture Cogolin archives today as a testament to its place in contemporary carpet history. As the decade of its centenary approached, La Manufacture Cogolin experienced a rebirth in 2010 when it joined the house of
Above: For its latest collection La Manufacture Cogolin has collaborated with French Architect Laurent Buttazzoi Left: The three variations that have emerged from Laurent Buttazzoni and La Manufacture Cogolin’s collaboration are Syracuse, Modica and Noto