Codes of the past encapsulated in woolen weave. Studio KO x Beni present the new Intersection collection
During this year's Salone del Mobile in Milan , better known as Milan Design Week, the Beni brand presented its new collection – ten rugs designed by Studio KO, a duo of French-Moroccan creators, namely Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty. It is a clash of two worlds – industrial aesthetics and Moroccan craftsmanship, a deliberate move by the creators.
The project took two years to complete. The inspiration came from everyday office objects – filing cabinets, planners, journals, spreadsheets, notebooks, even hardcover books.
Things that usually end up in a drawer or in a bin have been given a new life here. Woven from the highest quality wool, with attention to every detail, they have been transferred to a completely different dimension. Each of the carpets bears a title that is also a code and each tells its own story.
Studio KO x Beni - Intersction collection / press materials, photo: Romain LapradeThe whole thing is like browsing through a forgotten archive , where seemingly raw forms suddenly begin to speak.
“Our designs celebrate rapidly disappearing productivity tools, preserving their simplicity and utility in a woven form. It’s an ode to memory – the way we record, preserve and share it,” explains Olivier Marty, co-founder of Studio KO.
Studio KO x Beni - Intersction collection / press materials, photo: Romain LapradeWith the premiere of the collection, the brand presented two "new" weaving techniques: hand embroidery and Rabat. The first is extremely time-consuming, mastered only by a small group of weavers cooperating with Beni. Delicate woolen threads reproduce editorial symbols with extraordinary precision at a level worthy of haute couture. It is not only a show of masterful craftsmanship, but also a conscious gesture redefining tradition.
The second technique deserves a closer look, because it is over 500 years old and was once reserved exclusively for the Moroccan royal family. It is impressive in its precision – 64 knots per square inch (for comparison: the classic Beni Ourain has only 12), which allows for the creation of patterns of great complexity and finesse. This changes not only the appearance of the carpet itself, but also the way we think about its role in the interior.
"We didn't realize how many weaving techniques and traditions there are in different regions of Morocco. Like most people in the world, we associated the "Moroccan carpet" exclusively with the shaggy Beni Ourain," admitted Karl Fournier.
"However, we were amazed by Beni's openness to pushing boundaries. This was made possible by the pioneering workshop they created - a place where the experience of the weaving team and the great respect that Robert and Tiberio show for their knowledge, craft and ideas, gives space to experiment, prototype and co-create the production process," he added.
Studio KO x Beni - Intersction collection / press materials, photo: Romain LapradeIntersection is not only about carpets, but also a carefully designed visual and spatial story . The great photographer Romain Laprade was invited to photograph the collection, who immortalized it in the geometric interiors of Vincent Timsit’s workshop in Casablanca – an architectural work from 1952 by Jean-François Zevaco.
The building, inspired by the parabolic arch characteristic of Oscar Niemeyer, is now considered one of the icons of Moroccan modernism. Its form, rooted in history and open to the future, perfectly corresponds to the idea of Intersection.
Studio KO x Beni - Intersction collection / press materials, photo: Romain LapradeLike the carpets in the collection, the space becomes an artifact of production – a permanent trace of times gone by, transformed through a contemporary gaze.
The immersive installation presented during Milan Design Week and created by artist and set designer Luis Urculo, in turn, became pure performance.
Studio KO x Beni - Intersction collection / press materials, photo: Romain LapradeThousands of archival sheets of paper covered the entire interior of a former fabric store, creating what Beni’s artistic director, Colin King, called a “lost archive” that visitors entered as if they were entering “the center of someone’s subconscious.”
Studio KO x Beni - Intersction collection / press materials, photo: Romain LapradeA special fragrance with distinct notes of cedar and concrete by British perfumer Azzie Glasser filled the air, and a kind of soundscape was created in the space.
Studio KO x Beni - Intersction collection / press materials, photo: Romain LapradeRomain Fournier explained that Intersection is a transfer of artifacts of industrial civilization onto Moroccan carpets, using traditional weaving techniques.
The entire marketing campaign is a perfect example of how contemporary brands should talk about their work – through history, experience and uncompromising quality. From material experiments to the mesmerizing visual layer – here, each element reinforces the main idea of the collection – that memory and matter can meet through craftsmanship.
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