Kahhal 1871’s Latest Collection Explores Growth in a Bird’s Lifecycle

Kahhal 1871’s practice is grounded in craft as a carrier of memory, where process shapes narrative. With ‘Becoming You’, the Cairo-based house introduces a collaboration with designer Hala Saleh, founder and principal of TDF, presenting a collection of rugs conceived as a sequence rather than a set of individual pieces.

‘Becoming You’ unfolds across six rugs arranged into three pairs, tracing a cycle of origin, growth, and transformation. The collection draws from the lifecycle of a bird, from its first contact with the ground to the moment of expansion. This reference is absorbed into form and structure rather than depicted directly, translated through Kahhal’s established language of hand-crafted weaving. "The collection reflects how we see growth at Kahhal 1871, staying rooted in where we come from while allowing space to evolve," Mohamed El Kahhal, Managing Director at Kahhal 1871, tells SceneHome. "It speaks to renewal, transformation, and the marks we leave behind, drawing on nature as both inspiration and guide.”

Saleh approaches the collection as a study of becoming shaped by accumulation and reflection. Across the six rugs, shifts in density and openness articulate different stages of this process. Earlier phases are more grounded and imprinted, while later ones move towards lighter, more fluid compositions. The six phases, ‘The Emerging’, ‘The Interacting’, ‘The Growing’, ‘The Knowing’, ‘The Flourishing’ and ‘The Marking’, are organised into paired works that exist in dialogue. Contrast within each pair reflects the way different states of growth can coexist.

The first phases, ‘The Emerging’ and ‘The Interacting’, express grounding and initial learning through denser textures and weight. Midway, ‘The Growing’ and ‘The Knowing’ show movement and tension, suggesting exploration and discovery. The final phases, ‘The Flourishing’ and ‘The Marking’, open into expansive, lighter compositions that signal confidence and openness.

Motifs drawn from nature appear throughout, with branching forms, intertwined lines, and rising gestures embedded into the weave. Some patterns evoke lungs mirrored in trees, and vines intertwined with trunks, translating natural cycles into abstract form while retaining a tactile, hand-woven quality. “‘Becoming You’ came from reflecting on origin, both human and nature, and how transformation is never separate from where you begin," Saleh explains. "The collection unfolds almost like an internal thought process, capturing moments of reflection rather than resolution.”