DESIGNERS' EDITION brings together designs by internationally famous designers whose signatures could not be more different from one another - ranging from an avant garde London-based fashion designer by way of an experimental Swiss studio to the most influential female designer in Milan. All of them were asked to come up with a contemporary interpretation of the patterned carpet, and they have created fascinating designs, each reflecting the approach of the individual designer.
Figures from a video game feature on an oriental rug, colours seem to melt into one another, and graphic forms suggest the leafy pattern of a branching palm. The carpets of the Edition Ruckstuhl 2013 do not have many common features, but rather represent an impressive pot-pourri of multicultural currents and ideas.
The Swiss carpet manufacturing company was able to acquire the services of six celebrated designers, who engaged with the tradition of the patterned carpet to create novel but timeless forms of ornamentation. The designers chosen not only have different origins and a different understanding of design - they also come from different disciplines and backgrounds. Hussein Chalayan was born in Cyprus, and is principally known as a fashion designer. He has twice been chosen as British Designer of the Year. Victor Carrasco, a product designer and communication manager, also advises his customers on the development of brand strategies. Arik Levy studied industrial design, but sees himself as being not just a designer and technician - at the same time he is an artist, a photographer and a film maker. Claesson Koivisto Rune is a Swedish architects' office. They were represented at the Architectural Biennial in Venice in 2004. Last in the line-up are Milan designer Patricia Urquiola and the Swiss design studio atelier oï, known for its artistically imaginative scenographic productions.
Apart from the dictated concept of pattern and the condition that only natural and sustainable raw materials should be used, Ruckstuhl left the designers' imagination a free rein. The result has been a multilayered and richly varied collection which combines a wide range of design currents and cultural influences.
