Moooi carpets

Jonathan R. Jones watches Dutch firm Moooi making its first steps in the world of carpet design, extract from an article in COVER issue 39.

Moooi exhibition at Milan Design Week April 2015 featuring two Moooi carpets: ‘Jewels Garden’ by Maison Christian Lacroix and ‘Hexagon Red/Blue’ by Studio Job. Photo – Andrew Meredith

In COVER 39, Jonathan R. Jones watches Dutch firm Moooi making its first steps in the world of carpet design. This is an extract from that article. Read it in full in the Summer issue free to view online.

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before design maverick Moooi turned its attention to textiles for interiors. Renowned for a sense of play and the unexpected, Moooi is behind such icons of recent years as Front’s Horse Lamp, Maarten Baas’s Smoke collection, and memorable collaborations with the likes of Studio Job. Founded in 2001 by Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers, Moooi is named after the Dutch word Mooi, meaning beautiful – the third ‘o’ is apparently an addition to signify more beauty, more uniqueness.

Eden Queen by Marcel Wanders for Moooi Carpets

The new carpet collection, launched at the Salone del Mobile in Milan this year, is as eye-popping as you’d expect from a brand that plays with the unexpected. The launch has been years in the making – including the development of new technology – and comprises three distinct collections. At the heart of the Signature collection are designs by Moooi co-founder Marcel Wanders, who brings kaleidoscopic patterns and geometric graphics. Another highlight comes with the pebble-shaped Scribble rugs by Swedish studio Front, which look as though they have been shaded with coloured pencils.

Celestial by Edward van Vliet for Moooi Carpets

Leaving purists shuddering in their sandals, these photorealist designs are created using a high-definition Chromojet 800 printer. ‘This revolutionary machine is the cutting-edge result of a massive investment in terms of money and time,’ according to Moooi. ‘Several million euros and two years of building and testing have paid off.’ The machine is capable of printing at 76 dots per inch, up to five times higher definition than the previous generation of Chromojet machines that achieved just 16dpi. Moooi maintains that the technology has numerous advantages over spot colour printing, including less dye waste, fewer cleaning cycles and less energy consumption. Small minimum volumes are cost effective, and printing on pre-backed material means greater accuracy and installation without stretching.

Zircon by Marian Bantjes for Moooi Carpets

Scribble green/blue/pink by Front for Moooi Carpets