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Beni Rugs was founded in 2018 with a clear mission—to bring beautiful, handmade Moroccan rugs to the world, and to spotlight the incredible artisans behind the work. It’s a philosophy that evolves further with a new, more intricate rug construction. Dubbed Royale, the weave took over a year to develop; it’s a form of hand-knotting that is said to have been reserved for Moroccan palaces and nobility. It represents a higher-end offering, but one that remains rooted in Beni’s core values. “We didn’t sit down and decide we needed to be like a luxury brand,” says artistic director Colin King. “We kept asking how we could push wool further.”
The technique is incredibly involved: One 8’ x 10’ Royale rug consists of about 1.5 million knots—more than double that of any other weave in Beni’s collection. It’s a technical feat, but one that paved the way for more creativity. “It really allows endless possibilities for design,” says King. “It’s like someone finally gave me a fine pencil, so I can do a really fine line, a floating medallion, or tiny flowers.” There’s a practical payoff as well—it’s Beni’s densest pile, so the rugs feel incredibly soft underfoot.
The first collection that King designed with the Royale construction is Chelsea, named for his neighborhood in New York, where he has lived with the rugs in his apartment. The interiors, he says, are a huge departure from the neutral-toned residence he developed in Tribeca. That boundary-pushing approach started with the rugs. Some patterns are more subtle, like Facet, with its stately geometric motif, and Pavilion, a rug with an elegant medallion at center. Others, like the Crest rug in Pompeian Red, can completely transform a space with dramatic color. Leaf Fall, whose windswept figures evoke falling leaves, brings a more abstract sensibility; it sits in King’s bedroom and is among his favorites. Rather than drawing from one particular style or time period, King cast a wider net. “I wanted them to be digested enough so you couldn’t immediately locate them,” he says. “I took a closer look at gardens and topography, and the material references were a range, from iron gates to mosaics and trays.”
When it came time to photograph the Chelsea collection, King and the Beni team settled on Casa Franca, the former Marrakech home of longtime Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani. Over the years, the building has sustained damage, and has felt the passage of time. Nevertheless, the weathered surroundings serve as perfect contrast to the rugs, King notes, so the collection’s material and aesthetic complexity is on full display. It’s certainly a far cry from his New York residence, where the rugs are now part of his day-to-day life. “It’s personal to me, obviously. I lived with the rugs for a year. The apartment really became like a laboratory,” he says. “I wasn’t looking at these references on a board. I was walking over them every day.”
