French fashion designer Florian Pretet ventured into rug design while working at a Hérmes production facility in Kathmandu, Nepal. The result is the Février Rug collection, inspired by the patterns of Nepal and India and hand-knotted by expert weavers in the Himalayas.
“I have always been obsessed with patterns,” says Pretet. “Mostly I take inspiration from traditional tribal patterns from around the world: Kassena houses, Berber, aboriginal art. I was also highly influenced by the local patterns that I was introduced to while living in Nepal and India.”
Pretet comes from a family of artists and retains his childhood love for drawing. Every rug is designed on paper first. “I like to add a natural flow and eliminate the repetition and uniformity. The idea with the Février Rugs is to replicate the design in the fabric exactly as it is in paper.”
All of the rugs are made to order at a custom size from a combination of wool from Tibet and quality silk brought over from China. Each rug takes three to four months to complete and no machine or chemical is used during production to reserve the authenticity and natural beauty.
Pretet finished his studies in fashion at the Studio Berçot in Paris in 2009, and has worked in the fashion industry since.
