“Ways of Seeing”, cc-tapis’ Milan Design Week 2025 exhibition, is an exciting new frontier for the contemporary rug brand, fusing digital and analog worlds. It asks an urgent and timely question about whether technology is an extension of traditional craftsmanship. The collective presentation features 11 designs from 11 highly-acclaimed creatives: Eny Lee Parker, India Mahdavi, Kwangho Lee, Bethan Laura Wood, Cristina Celestino, destroyers / builders, Wild Animals, Cristián Mohaded, Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost & Dominique Perrault, and Damien Ajavon. Each design is an expression of an idea formed using a different rug-making technique, from hand embossing and embroidery to handknotting, handweaving and dhurrie. Running April 7-13 in its Piazza Santo Stefano showroom, the exhibition combines the artisan, handmade rug craft that cctapis has been refining since it was founded in 2011 and the high-tech realm represented by digital technology – the latter an ever more present part of our daily lives.

Taking its name from John Berger’s iconic BBC television series from the 1970s that questioned how we view art, “Ways of Seeing” is curated by Milan’s Giga Design Studio, which works at the forefront of visual communication and technology. The show’s twist is that each handcrafted, physical object will feature a suspended monitor hanging next to it. The outward appearance is of an empty, white screen – a provocation to further explore. Visitors are invited to engage with the monitors as much or as little as they want in a tactile, intimate way. On entering the showroom, they will be handed a special hand-held viewing screen. Gazing through it will reveal the imagery on each of the monitors that previously appeared to be blank. Interacting in this way allows for a multisensory experience and a deeper understanding of the maker process behind each rug. The aim is to let the visuals add a layer of explanation rather than dictate what one should be thinking. Daniele Lora, art director and partner, cc-tapis: “We are a company specialized in artisanal production that is always striving to unite contemporary design with traditional craftsmanship. Through ‘Ways of Seeing’ we hope to give people multiple viewpoints of craftsmanship and contemporary design; to celebrate each process and all of the people involved in the collections.” Gabriele Donini, co-founder, Giga Design Studio: “John Berger showed how images aren’t neutral – they’re shaped by power, context, and ideology. Our exhibition translates that into a physical form, interrupting the act of looking itself. And for those curious enough, there’s a way to see behind the curtain.” Each of the 11 rug designs for “Ways of Seeing” has been developed over months and in some cases years. Although one piece from each creative is displayed in the cc-tapis showroom, visitors are encouraged to view the complete collections on the cc-tapis website, linking the physical and digital spaces.

Clay Scan delves into the tactile essence of clay and its translation into the visual language of design. Drawing inspiration from her hands-on sculpting process, Eny Lee Parker reimagined the medium by transforming its three-dimensional forms into striking two-dimensional compositions. Using techniques such as rolling, pressing, and shaping, Eny Lee captured the raw textures, undulating edges, and organic imperfections of clay through a scanner. These impressions preserve the inherent beauty of handwork, serving as the foundation for her designs. At the cc-tapis Atelier in Nepal, expert artisans meticulously translated these scans onto rugs, creating three unique designs in Himalayan wool. “This process allowed me to bridge the physicality of sculpting with the artistry of textile design,” explains Eny Lee Parker. “Each rug reflects the transformative nature of clay—its malleability, texture, and the connection to human touch.” The collection’s color palette draws directly from the natural hues of clay: deep, earthy browns reminiscent of drying terra cotta, paired with soft, creamy whites that echo the tones of Eny Lee Parker’s most-used clay. These hues celebrate the raw, unfiltered beauty of the material in its purest form.expressed in her creation evoking the divine, the unseen, and the cyclical nature of existence.

India Mahdavi has developed an intricate puzzle that extends beyond the obvious, turning words, phrases, and ideas into bold and unexpected shapes. Each piece in the Rebus collection combines playful abstraction with symbolism, part of a !gurative language that invites the viewer to interpret and uncover the hidden clues woven into its surface. Produced in cc-tapis” Atelier in Nepal, the soft fade eect central to each design is the result of a meticulous artisanal process achieved through a careful alternation of woollen threads in varying saturations, resulting in a color palette that is both subtle and striking.expressed in her creation evoking the divine, the unseen, and the cyclical nature of existence.

Patricia Urquiola reimagines the rhythm of a digital gesture into a handmade rug: Ripple. Sketching a line that unfolds and multiplies, Urquiola creates a composition of fluid, almost kinetic overlays. A motif coming to life in the cut-pile of the wool, where variations in height and texture bring a dynamic depth to the rug. A celebration of innovation, craftsmanship and the art of texture, bringing an electrifying energy into any space. The Ripple Collection is available in numerous striking colorways: warm ochres and earthy browns evoke a grounded, organic essence celebrating the richness of the earth. In contrast, the vibrant greens and pinks amplify the visual tension of the pattern, creating a playful, unexpected twist. “With Ripple I wanted to capture the fluidity of digital gestures and translate them into the tactile, physical world. A rug that breathes movement, inviting a dynamic interplay of texture, color and form” – says Patricia Urquiola.

Patricia Urquiola’s Cryptid collection transforms traditional dhurries into a vibrant, ever-evolving landscape, where tiny, embroidered beings merge to create a world in motion. Suspended between the organic and the abstract, Urquiola’s hand-drawn digital sketches, are transformed by Indian female artisans into embroidered motifs, telling the story of two distinct worlds. The first, in earthy tones and soft gradients, is populated by small organisms that seem to crawl across the surface, evoking creatures of the earth. The second, in soft blues and azures, features flowing gradients that give a sense of movement; floating shapes alluding to manta rays, sea creatures, and the airy grace of beings drifting through the sky. “As I worked on this collection, I wanted to capture nature’s subtle energy, its fluidity, its rhythm, in a way that feels both abstract and alive,” says Patricia Urquiola. Crafted with a mindful approach, optimizing formats to minimize waste, the collection blends traditional craftsmanship with a forward-thinking attitude toward the environment. In the production process, artisans adopted a traditional Spanish stitching technique, once used to make children’s clothing - a tribute to Urquiola’s cultural heritage. This technique was applied to each piece, where the gradient base was cut into squares and then re-sewn together, sometimes rotated, to change the movement and direction of the rug.

Inspired by his copper series, Kwangho Lee and cc-tapis present The Color of Copper (TCOC), a collection of four hand-knotted rugs that reinterpret the oxidation process of this metal using pure silk, Himalayan wool and aloe fibers. Kwangho Lee has been working with copper since 2008, drawn to its unique properties and creative possibilities. He has explored how its surface transforms over time, reacting to temperature and environmental conditions, blending into this ductile and malleable metal/revealing the material’s ductility and malleability. Building on his research, the Korean designer developed geometric motifs that reflect the color variations and patterns formed through welding real copper plates. As copper oxidizes, it develops a rich reddish-brown cuprous layer, which gradually transitions into a striking green patina. The Color of Copper captures this organic transformation, translating the accidental beauty of oxidation into a warm, radiant color palette, meticulously reproduced by expert artisans through a labor-intensive process. Combining threads of Himalayan wool, pure silk and aloe in alternating saturations, they developed a new color system that mirrors the luminous, ever-changing nature of copper’s surface. expressed in her creation evoking the divine, the unseen, and the cyclical nature of existence.

The Soft Wood Rug is a kaleidoscopic vision that unfolds and tessellates across the surface of a handknotted rug. Crafted by skilled Tibetan artisans in Nepal, this design is an evolution of Bethan Laura Woods extensive work in custom wooden veneers, originally created with Alpi, the renowned Italian specialist wood composites. Now, in 2025, the dynamic pattern takes textile form with the Soft Wood rug, where the intricate design has been translated with Himalayan wool, creating a mesmerizing soft-focus effect, delicately transitioning between color and shape. To create the design, Bethan matched and manipulated pages from her custom ‘ book block’ veneers. Working digitally, she carefully selected and cut the pages into various shapes, forming a complex, non-repeating, yet mirroring composition—a homage to the artistry of transforming small pieces of exotic woods into expansive surfaces though book-matching and marquetry techniques . Describing her creative process, Bethan says, “I love to create visual landscapes or depth within my work through the details and patternation.” The immersive design invites endless exploration, revealing an ever-changing landscape of bats, butterflies, and mysterious creatures—emerging and fading as if viewed through a microscope.

Playing with depth, light, and shadow, Cristina Celestino and cc-tapis present Rilievo. A sculptural rug where an embossed pattern gracefully emerges from the surface, creating a threedimensional interplay of texture and form. Inspired by organic geometries, the flowing motif frames fields of color and evokes harmonious repetitions that nod to trompe-l’oeil and the illusion of movement. Dyed in a natural palette of earthy tones, Rilievo embodies Cristina Celestino’s artistic vision which is expressed through the craftsmanship of expert artisans. Produced using a handloom technique, cc-tapis experimented with different pile densities arriving at a solution that was so thick that it could literally be sculpted. Artisans use a technique called embossing, where they cut manually into the deep pile, carving the motif “illusione” which Cristina Celestino designed for Fornace Brioni in 2021, originally produced in Terracotta. cc-tapis was able to transform the tactility of wool into something which could be crafted, similar to historic relief sculptures, or “rilievo” in Italian. Blurring the lines between surface and structure, the collection captures a refined interpretation of contemporary design and artisanal craftsmanship.

With Monograph, cc-tapis and destroyers/builders bring the studio’s architectural sensibility to the world of rugs, balancing contemporary and traditional elements, rawness and softness, literally applying the hands-on process-driven concept of the designer to artisanal craftsmanship. With a design language rooted in the act of assembly and disassembly, destroyers/builders continuously explores architectural elements, materials, and techniques with a deep curiosity for the making process. Focusing on paper collages with adhesive tape, the collection takes inspiration from one of the most primitive and instinctive phases of creation. While Linde Freya Tangelder, founder of destroyers/builders, typically applies her research to metal, wood, or glass, the Monograph collection marks her first exploration into textiles and two-dimensional design, embracing the raw, tactile qualities of jute and wool. Her process of collaging, folding, cutting and taping, were adopted by Indian Artisans who embraced and translated it with out of scale pieces of jute, folding and stitching raw textile together. Just like her sculptural works, these rugs celebrate subtle reliefs, layered textures, and tonal variations, evoking the overlapping transparency of tape on paper by stitching a series of handwoven rug strips together. The Monograph collection celebrates the rawness and simplicity that define destroyers/builders, transforming an ephemeral moment of material experimentation into an enduring textile piece.

Bringing playfulness to traditional tartan patterns, Grandma Patterns is a soft, texturally rich collection of five rugs designed by Rop van Mierlo, founder of Wild Animals. Using the wet paper technique, Rop van Mierlo created a series of vibrant, untamed patterns, that celebrate the cozy, cocooned world of grandmothers. By playing with bold color contrasts and natural materials, the collection merges nostalgia for grandma’s plaids with contemporary design. A progression on Rop van Mierlo’s signature abstract animal watercolors, the Dutch artist experimented with painting precise, geometric forms on a wet surface with the same wild approach: an unpredictable process done, in this case, “without any prior knowledge of patterns”, explains Rop. Each of the five motifs translates organic water lines, marks, points, and geometric forms into a unique piece with a shaggy pile which expresses the freedom of the imprecise grids. Crafted by hand, the collection embodies the raw, primitive beauty of natural materials. Grandma Patterns challenges the boundary between the wild and the domesticated, presenting geometry as a way to structure and soften our domestic world, capturing what Rop van Mierlo describes as “patterns of uncontrolled behavior”.

The ongoing collaboration with cc-tapis led Cristián Mohaded to open a conversation between his sketches and artisanal production. His creative process started, like all his projects, with pen on paper. Experimenting with movement and layering, he creates depth with his simple gestures, which dance fluidly across paper. cc-tapis translated his instinctive approach to form and movement into a series of hand-woven rugs named Folds, which merge artistic spontaneity with exquisite craftsmanship. What begins as a playful exchange of movement gradually unfolds into a tapestry with each stroke of color layering over the next in a rhythmic composition of depth and texture. His irregular strokes expand and contract, rise and fold with grace onto each rug, creating a landscape in constant evolution. Like the gradual progression of geological formations, the lines echo the soft contours of stones, the spirals of seashells, the delicate shifts of wind-shaped landscapes. Gentle tones emerge, breathing life into the textile, where shadows and light blend in a quiet, natural harmony. “With Folds, I wanted to capture the quiet rhythm of nature, its ability to shape and transform itself over time. The lines in these rugs move like whispers in the sand, like ripples in water, always shifting, yet always connected,” says Cristián Mohaded.

Inspired by the metallic mesh that has defined their architectural work since the 1990s, Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost and Dominique Perrault continue their exploration of industrial materials, now reinterpreted through the warmth of wool with cc-tapis. Originally used as a structural and finishing element for floors, walls, ceilings, and facades, metallic mesh is typically associated with large-scale architectural applications. Now it has been reimagined for more intimate, domestic spaces in the form of the Spiralé rug collection. A textile expression expanding and contracting like a chevron pattern, stretching, repeating, and extending its zig-zagging nature across the entire surface of the rug. For Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost and Dominique Perrault, the process dictates the motif, while the material determines the color. Just as metallic mesh reveals the raw tones of metal, the Spiralé collection showcases a gradient of undyed wools, celebrating the natural hues of the fiber. “With Spiralé, we wanted to translate an architectural language into a textile expression, where the interplay of structure and materiality acquires a new sensory dimension. The wool softens the geometry, creating a tactile landscape that is both structured and fluid,” say Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost and Dominique Perrault.

A vibrant tribute to the city of Milan and the creative possibilities of craftsmanship, Chemin Vers Milano is the result of the collaboration between textile artist Damien Ajavon and cc-tapis. Inspired by the dynamic contrasts of Milan, where the classical meets the industrial, and everyday life blends with the different unexpected layers of the city, the collection translates Damien’s signature textile techniques into a series of expressive, sculptural rugs. “For many years, I’ve been working with lace, weaving techniques that have been pivotal to my practice and has come to stand as a signature in my work,” says Ajavon. “Applying knitting techniques, I knit my own thread to act as the weft. Interlaced with the warp, the result bridges the twodimensional textile with something more sculptural by adding three-dimensional effects,” they continue. To bring their vision to life, cc-tapis artisans introduced a neutral base to Damien’s signature lace fabrics, using a meticulous hand-weaving process that unfolds in a rhythmic, harmonious interplay of colors. Each fiber was hand-dyed to recreate the vibrancy of Damien’s bold palette, before being woven together into contrasting hues mirroring the richness and beauty of multilayered identities. More than a collection, Chemin Vers Milano is a journey reflecting Damien’s artistic evolution and Afropean heritage, as well as their deep connection to Milan.

Giga is a design studio that combines technology, narrative and visual culture. Giga partners with forward-thinking brands, institutions and individuals from the art, fashion and design industry to create visual identities, digital experiences and communication campaigns. Founded in 2017 by Gabriele Donini, Pablo Galbusera and Giacomo Scandolara after working at industry-leading firms, the studio is driven by an experimental yet strategic approach. Its multidisciplinary team takes on projects from concept to launch offering a wide range of services. Alongside the consultancy work, Giga starts-up and launches its own research experiments and commercial products within the fields of design, culture, arts and gaming. All three partners are visiting teachers in various design schools like Politecnico di Milano, Raffles and UNIRSM. They occasionally give workshops and lectures at conferences and cultural institutions.

Founded in 2011, today cc-tapis has a catalog that includes a wide range of rugs designed in partnership with forward-thinking creatives and brands. This model allows the company to constantly explore new aesthetics and manufacturing solutions, in a process of continuous research and cross-pollination. The majority of cc-tapis’ collections are handmade in the company’s ateliers in Nepal and India, where high-quality raw materials such as Himalayan wool, pure silk and linen are shaped by master artisans, following a centuries-old craftsmanship tradition. Smaller productions are carried out in Italy, where cc-tapis keeps pushing the limits of what is considered possible in the realms of rug-making through modern technologies like robotufting. Over the years, the company has developed a substantial know-how in creating custom rugs for specific projects. Today, this ability makes cc-tapis a leader in bespoke services for companies and professionals working in the contract and residential sectors. Far from mass production, cc-tapis aims to offer a tailored service to those who understand and enjoy a high-end product which contains the story of an ageless culture.

WAYS OF SEEING - PRESSKIT