Capsule: Lineage
Crosby Street Studios introduces Lineage, the latest capsule collection of eight rug designs made of natural hand-spun fibers inspired by the rich history of African textiles and tribal patterns from all over the continent.
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Inspired by the appliqued designs typically found in Kuba cloths of Central Africa, Mago’s modern interpretation is achieved through a Tibetan wool kilim ground with the pattern woven in a raised cut pile. The natural undyed Tibetan wool is accented with wild silk in a turmeric gold color.
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Mago detail
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Dorob’s pattern is inspired by the patchwork of native African raffia fabric typically found in Kuba cloths. The geometric design is woven with a mix of kilim technique, and chunkier hand-spun Tibetan wool raised cut pile. The border continues in the same pattern but is woven in pop colors of black, turmeric and lilac.
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Capsule: Lineage overview
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Inspired by West African stripeweaves, Ruma is a broken stripe pattern that reflects the technique of weaving narrow widths of fabric and piecing them together. It is a Tibetan wool kilim with a neutral palette of grays, browns, and blacks with a hint of lilac.
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Inspired by the patterns in African Tutsi basketry, Karoo’s bold geometric design is handwoven in Tibetan wool and Nettle kilim and has a cut pile checkered border on either side. It is accented on the top and bottom with a border of turmeric and lilac, woven with the Soumac technique.
African textiles were traditionally worn as garments during significant change-of-life ceremonies and funerals. Several region-specific handcraft techniques are used to make them, including West African Stripweaving, Tutsi basketry, cut pile, and raffia embroidery, and applique found in Kuba cloths from Central Africa. Stripweaves are textiles woven in narrow widths and then sewn together to create a larger piece of fabric that is sewn into garments.
While all of these rug designs are inspired by African textiles and the techniques, and materials used to make them, each Capsule: Lineage rug is deliberately designed, colored, and rendered in a more modern, natural, and almost primitive way.
All eight designs, Addo, Dorob, Etosha, Karoo, Mago, Meru, Omo, and Ruma, can be custom sized and colored.
