LAYERED and Tom Morris Explore British Textile Heritage Through CLOTH
photography Ollie Tomlinson
Images courtesy of LAYERED
Blending British textile traditions with Scandinavian craftsmanship, LAYERED introduces CLOTH, a collection of six handwoven wool rugs created in collaboration with London based interior designer Tom Morris. Rooted in history yet shaped by a contemporary perspective, the collection marks Morris’s debut in product design.
There is a particular beauty in textiles that carry the traces of time. In the patterns passed down through generations, the craftsmanship behind traditional weaving and the colours drawn from familiar landscapes, history becomes something tangible. With CLOTH, launching on 19 October, LAYERED turns its attention to the rich textile heritage of the British Isles, reinterpreting traditional references through a contemporary lens. Created in collaboration with Tom Morris, founder of London based interior design studio Morrisstudio, the collection brings together Morris’s narrative approach to interiors and LAYERED’s understanding of contemporary textile craftsmanship. Drawing on his English and Welsh heritage, Morris explores the patterns and techniques that have shaped British textiles, translating them into a collection defined by geometric forms, considered colour combinations and tactile surfaces. For Morris, storytelling and craftsmanship are central to the creative process. Having spent more than a decade working as a design journalist before establishing Morrisstudio in 2019, he brings a considered, research driven perspective to design, with an interest in interiors that feel personal and grounded in history.
“There is a quiet beauty in the British textile tradition that has always fascinated me. It holds generations of craftsmanship, and my intention was to honour that heritage through a contemporary perspective rather than a nostalgic one,” says Morris.
The development of CLOTH began with an exploration of LAYERED’s different rug constructions, from shaggy textures to substantial flatweaves and cut wool. This initial investigation opened up new possibilities around weaving techniques and the structure of traditional textiles, eventually shaping the concept behind the collection. A year of development followed, during which the production process, designs and colour palette were refined in collaboration with LAYERED. The resulting collection reflects Morris’s modernist sensibility, where clean lines, symmetry and geometric patterns meet carefully balanced colour contrasts. Inspired by the coastal landscapes of North Wales, the palette combines deep, muted shades with crisp graphic motifs, bringing a quiet sense of character and balance to contemporary interiors.
CLOTH comprises six flatwoven wool rugs, each drawing from a distinct part of British textile history. Dandelion, Olwen Blue and Bardsey Green take inspiration from traditional Welsh blankets, a craft with roots in the eighteenth century known for its graphic geometries and saturated colours. Margarine, Betty Brown and Cooper Green look instead to the English tradition of stripes, referencing Savile Row tailoring, classic awning fabrics and English equestrian culture. The collection also represents a new direction for LAYERED, bringing a different cultural perspective into the brand’s established approach to Scandinavian craftsmanship.
“We were drawn to Morris’s modernist language and his confident use of colour,” says Malin Glemme, founder and Creative Director of LAYERED. “With CLOTH, we wanted to approach history from a contemporary perspective. It is a new and exciting direction for us, where British textile heritage is filtered through Scandinavian craftsmanship.”
Beyond its visual language, CLOTH places particular emphasis on the technical precision of traditional weaving. The collection explores the possibilities of the flatweave, with its linear stripes requiring an adaptation of the handweaving process to achieve the precise, uninterrupted lines that define the designs. The rugs are produced on a pit loom, a traditional handloom set into the floor, allowing the weaver to operate the treadles from below ground level. The coordinated rhythm of hand and foot creates a particularly compact and durable weave. Combined with the rugs’ low profile and restrained geometry, this construction gives the pieces a tactile quality suited to contemporary spaces. To understand the thinking behind CLOTH, we spoke with Tom Morris about the research that informed the collection, from traditional textiles across different craft cultures to the stripes of Savile Row tailoring and the distinctive motifs of Welsh blankets. He also shares insights into the collaborative process between Morrisstudio and LAYERED, the role of colour in translating landscape into design, and what lies ahead for his studio.
Ulrika Lindqvist: What was your approach to designing the rugs? Where did the process begin?
Tom Morris: Our process started conceptually, as our work often does. We were studying traditional cloths and handmade textiles from all around the world: how different weaves exist in different places, but also the close similarities in production and style between different craft cultures. This included everything from ‘boro’ patchwork denim in Japan to chequerboard patterns in West Africa as well as the textiles closer to home on the British Isles. We finally landed on how stripes exist in different parts of British culture (on everything from racing cars to tailoring on Savile Row) and the traditional patterns of Welsh blankets as a vernacular collection.
UL: Were there any particular challenges or unexpected discoveries during the design or production process?
TM: Our interior design work involves a lot of colour study and doing that in 3D form with rugs between us as designers in London with the Layered team in Stockholm and then also the craftspeople making them with traditional techniques in India was an interesting process. The sampling process of rugs is by its very nature long, which allowed time to breathe between the traditional stages of design, which was a nice relief to the often quick way we work on interior designs.
UL: Can you tell us about the patterns and how you found the inspiration for them?
TM: Half the collection is inspired by the traditional motifs of Welsh blankets, which go back to the 12th century. These distinct symbols are inspired by motifs in nature and as well as castles. The other half of the collection looks at stripes and how they are used in different textiles in English culture such as horse racing, menswear tailoring and postwar product design (our humble deckchair!). The colour palette was inspired by the tones of the Welsh and English landscapes: sky blue, grass green, soil brown and sand.
UL: Looking ahead, what’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects or ideas you’re especially excited about?
TM: We are working on various residential projects here as well as a new bar/restaurant concept for a commercial client.
With CLOTH, LAYERED and Morrisstudio demonstrate how traditional craftsmanship can evolve without losing its connection to the past. Across six rugs, the collection brings together the visual language of British textiles and the precision of Scandinavian making, creating pieces that feel both historically grounded and at home in contemporary architecture.
text by Ulrika Lindqvist
