Hand-knotted cashmere and silk rug by Alexander McQueen for the Rug Company, $18,900, 6' x 9', to order, therugcompany.info.
Shortly before he passed away, Alexander McQueen completed an opulent
six-piece collection for the Rug Company. While the
English firm has
collaborated with such designers as Vivienne Westwood, Diane von
Furstenberg, and Paul Smith, McQueen’s hand-knotted series—four large
rugs and two coordinating throw pillows—is its most ambitious project to
date. After three years of
design and production, the interior works of
art are already being considered instant heirlooms. For one rug, in a
military brocade design, McQueen was inspired by a gold
bullion–embroidered coat from his fall 2001 runway show; for another, he
mined his iconic skull pattern in striking white and silver. For us,
however, this dreamy flock of hummingbirds taking wing into the night
sky—an
image McQueen borrowed from his spring 2009 collection—feels
like a particularly apt send-off to the fashion genius.