Originally founded in Persia and now based in Zurich, family-run business Zollanvari is a leading manufacturer of handmade carpets. According to the company, its collections embody the spirit of carpet design and weaving, all the while demonstrating a profound understanding of the ethos of age-old weaving techniques. Since the very beginning, Zollanvari has forged and maintained close ties with a vast network of weavers – which has given rise to timeless, unique designs and played a key role in the company’s inventive and constantly evolving carpet production. What's more, Zollanvari is one of the very few manufacturers in its field to receive STANDARD 100 certification from OEKO-TEX. This accolade was earned thanks to its handwoven carpets (rugs, gabbehs, kilims and jajims), which are made from sheep’s wool that is combed and spun by hand and traditionally dyed using natural plant dyes.

Given Zollanvari's profile, it's no wonder that DOMOTEX, the world's leading trade fair for floor coverings, is a firm fixture in its calendar. At the 2019 event in Hannover, the company even scooped one of the coveted Carpet Design Awards. Eager to keep this tradition alive, Zollanvari is returning to DOMOTEX 2020 to showcase a range of new creations - including the "Qashqa’'i, meet Bauhaus" collection designed by the SoFarSoNear studio based in Milan. According to Zollanvari, the use of geometric and abstract patterns - coupled with bright, natural dyes from Qashqa'i weaving mills - is a nod to the Bauhaus movement and, in particular, one of its pivotal figures, Josef Albers. This painter's in-depth studies of the interplay of color and human perception, which are reflected in his square-dominated artworks, reminded the designers of their own geometric gabbehs and the interaction of color between the individual elements woven into them. Just as they do in Albers' work, the colors in these elements aim to both allure and deceive and thus turn them into the fascinating and formal feature of the creation. The SoFarSoNear designers have also merged the style of gabbeh weaving with Albers' drawings, choosing iconic motifs of lions, peacocks, men and women from Qashqa'i culture as further core elements and simplifying them using squares and triangles.