Profile | Textile curator Souad Larusi

Woven by tribes in North Africa’s Atlas Mountains, Berber rugs are known worldwide for their beauty and artistry. But their popularity has spawned thousands of poor-quality, mass-produced imitations, with major homeware brands appropriating traditional Berber styles without any respect for their heritage, their cultural context or the skill behind them.

For those seeking a truly authentic Berber rug, London-based Larusi is an excellent place to turn. Founded by Moroccan-born Souad Larusi, who in 2000 turned her lifelong passion for handcrafted textiles into a business, it sources vintage rugs directly from Berber families, as well as stocking wall hangings, cushions, throws, mats and other pieces made by artisans in Morocco, sub-Saharan Africa, India and beyond. Larusi’s showroom was described by the Louis Vuitton London guide as a ‘textile lover’s trove’, and clients to date have included Tom Ford, Ilse Crawford, Tom Dixon and many other renowned designers.

I first discovered Larusi after meeting Souad at an interiors event many years ago, and I was instantly struck by her commitment to ethical sourcing. I also share her belief that handcrafted pieces bring warmth and soul to a space, so I was delighted when she agreed to take part in my series profiling makers, artists, designers and creative business owners.

Over to Souad herself for more…

Hi Souad! Please can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your background?

“I grew up in Fes, one of the most amazing cities in Morocco. My professional background is in human rights. I worked at Amnesty International for 12 years, developing Amnesty structures and human rights education in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2000, I decided to leave my cherished human rights job to spend more time with our son.”

Have you always been interested in design, textiles and craft?

“My mum was a master hand embroiderer, so I grew up watching her make intricate traditional embroidery on kaftans, belts and veils to help support the family. I admired how she recycled clothes and other textile items into curtains, totes, cushions and aprons. So, I started customising my own clothes, creating small embroideries and sourcing fabrics. The highlight of the week for me was accompanying my mum to the medina to select thread and yarn. The specialist shops would display hundreds of bobbins, without any colour references or markings, and she would just choose on sight and experience. Being surrounded by traditional Moroccan textiles nurtured my deep appreciation for design, crafts and colour from an early age.”

Above: a vintage Beni Ouarain loop rug with monochrome stripes

You have a particular love for Berber rugs – what makes them so special?

“The patterns and styles of Berber rugs, such as the monochrome pile rugs of the Beni Ouarain tribe and the often more colourful designs of the Azilal Berbers in the Middle Atlas, go back millennia and are passed on from generation to generation of women weavers. There’s much improvisation, and many Berber rugs are characterised by non-symmetrical, free-flowing patterns. They often feature visually exciting designs – open and expansive – that have no preconceived plan but reflect the weaver’s environment and aspirations. They have soul. 

“Decoration and pattern grab everybody’s attention nowadays, but as Paul Klee pointed out long ago, what appears to be new hardly ever really is. The Berber tribes have produced fantastic rugs for centuries, and pioneering designers such as Rietveld, Alvar Aalto and Poul Kjærholm used them with great success to complement contemporary interiors.”

How did this love for Berber rugs become a business?

“A couple of years after I left Amnesty International, we moved from a flat to a Victorian house and just could not find the carpets we wanted in the UK. After a few trips to Morocco, I managed to source a lovely vintage rug from a village market. It was an original Beni Ouarain pile rug. Friends and neighbours asked me to get them similar ones, and a business idea was born. Having no business background, I was unsure whether to go for it or not. Then leading interior designer Ilse Crawford asked me if I could source some vintage rugs for a hotel project in New York, which made me think that it was a viable idea. Once World of Interiors magazine published a feature on Larusi in 2003, the trend for Berber rugs followed.”

Above: a framed zindekh (a small Berber mat knotted onto a recycled flour or grain sack) and a vintage Beni Ouarain pile rug with an unusual hint of colour

How would you describe your collection and your approach?

“It’s timeless, authentic, highly individual and handmade. We offer genuine vintage rugs of exceptional quality and design. To engage with our clients properly, we work by appointment from our studio in London and reach out worldwide via our website and social media. Meeting our clients in person is the best way to help them decide on the best pieces for their particular projects. Think of it as getting your outfit measured.”

Ethical practices are clearly very important to you. Can you tell us more about your ethos?

“Because of the phenomenal popularity of Berber rugs, there have been many poor imitations that reproduce classic Berber patterns but not the quality of the wool, the knotting techniques or the craftsmanship. They don’t have the ‘soul’ I mentioned before, as they were copied not created, and most of them come from commercial, profit-driven workshops. Beni Ouarain rug designs that have been perfected over many generations, for example, are adapted without any real understanding of their provenance. Some producers use low-grade wool, give the rugs a toxic chemical wash to ‘age’ them and pass them off as vintage pieces. The chemicals strip the wool of its natural lanolin, which is what gives it durability, and are also bad for the skin. Weaving families have always washed their rugs in rivers using natural soap, but nowadays I see examples of rug-washing in rivers on an industrial level, polluting the water and affecting vegetation, animals and crops.

“Larusi rugs are authentic and I select them personally, using long-established contacts with Berber families and the trust that we have built over the years. Our clients come to us for original pieces sourced with integrity.”

Above: a vintage Anatolian kilim (a type of flat-woven rug) in a minimalist neutral bedroom

And how do you go about selecting rugs? What do you look for?

“I only buy what I like and would use in my own home; I don’t follow trends or buy rugs because their style is popular. I look for authenticity, quality and a weaver’s aesthetic interpretation of pattern. The beauty of vintage Berber rugs is their individuality, expressiveness and improvisation, which you’d never find in a contemporary workshop- or factory-made rug. 

“I inspect piles of rugs each time to select the best pieces, ensuring that they’re colour-fast and free from stress and bulges. I also never buy rugs that have been chemically washed – and after a long time in the business, I can tell if a rug has had the chemical treatment without even having to touch it.”

You’ve recently branched out and now also offer other vintage textiles, as well as handmade shawls and cushions. Please can you tell us about these collections and what makes them special”

“I’m a textile magpie! On my travels to discover vintage rugs, I sometimes come across other enticing textiles and can’t resist bringing them back to my studio. I always look for the same things: quality, natural materials, a timelessness in design, a specific provenance story. I love the idea of finding new homes for vintage fabrics, which can be used as bedspreads or curtains, or incorporated into various soft furnishings such as cushions and headboards. I’ve even incorporated vintage Berber textiles in tote bags and clutches, where each piece is unique.

“I’ve also designed versatile reversible shawls made from the softest wool, which look great wrapped around the shoulders or as throws on sofas and beds. They’re created by stitching two double-sided colour panels together, and the edges are left intentionally raw to create a relaxed feel. The delicate weave allows each colour to be slightly visible from the reverse side, giving every shawl depth and texture.”

Above: a vintage Berber blanket, two cushions made from vintage Anatolian textiles, and one of the reversible woollen shawls designed by Souad herself

What inspires you?

“Anything that tickles the imagination and curiosity: nature, a postcard, an exhibition, an old textile fragment… Raw beauty can be found anywhere.”

Do you have any personal favourites from your collections so far?

“Apart from the classic Beni Ouarain rugs, which I love for their quiet beauty and understated luxury, I absolutely love the Moroccan Boucherouites (rag rugs) for their creative boldness and daring use of colour and pattern. Some are abstract art pieces. As you can imagine, I sometimes get attached to some pieces, which I keep for many years and only make available for sale after I’ve enjoyed looking at them. We have quite a few pieces hanging on our walls at home.”

Above: geometric rugs woven from palm reeds and palm-tree fibres by the Tuareg tribes of the Sahara, styled in a mid-century modern interior

Finally, what’s next for you and Larusi – any exciting plans on the horizon?

“An exhibition is in the pipeline of a particular type of rug and textile that I love and have been collecting over the years.”

Thanks Souad!

Find out more about Larusi, browse its collection and make an appointment at the studio here. And please, don’t buy fake Berber rugs! If your budget won’t stretch to the real thing, save up or choose another design that doesn’t involve copying or cultural appropriation.

All photography courtesy of Larusi. Image nine by Jake Curtis; images one-eight, 13 and 14 by Michael Sinclair, with styling by Alex Kristal