Fashion designer JJ Valaya lends his name to luxury carpets

Under the Raj, Kapurthala, now a district in Punjab, was a princely state ruled by the Ahluwalia Dynasty. Its history today remains enshrined in its architecture – many of which are based on French and Indo-Saracenic architecture. Kapurthala, the land of his forefathers is the place of inspiration for JJ Valaya’s art and design.  

Inspired by the intricate paisley patterns which present widely in his clothes, Valaya says that the “language of his design, its spirit and ethos are intact” as he transitions his concepts from fashion to art deco - from the iconic jamawars to home décor.  

Kapurthala – from Kashmir to Marsellies – the uber-luxury carpet line recently launched by Obeetee is a medium for Valaya’s tribute to Kapurthala’s rich heritage. A century-old luxury carpet exporter, Obeetee Carpets belongs to the Luxmi Tea House, the makers of Makaibari tea.  

JJ Valaya is part of Obeetee’s fifth edition of the ‘Proud to be Indian’ collection. The earlier editions were designed by Shantanu & Nikhil, Abraham & Thakore, Raghavendra Rathore, and Tarun Tahiliani. 

He explains, “Traditionally the jamawar has held a special place in my own ethos and DNA ever since I started working with the brand. We are over 30 years old in the business and we have a certain kind of DNA, a certain kind of palette and motifs and all this will now be seen on the floor on carpets. Our process is simple and I have spent a significant time on research and then got down to the first sketches and from there rendered them on computers. The actual sampling has been done closely with the Obeetee design team. The conceptualisation took time, but at the end of it, we got something unique.” 

The design philosophy of these carpets traces the journey of the paisley pattern from its origins in Kashmir to its European avatar in Marseilles, France. The price range of these carpets is between Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 8.4 lakh. 
Angelique Dhama, CEO, Obeetee Retail said, “Our new store is designed to help our customers embark on this unforgettable journey and truly experience all that Obeetee stands for. The exemplary vision and unparalleled craftsmanship behind the JJ Valaya collection are revolutionary and we are ecstatic to share it with the world.”

Valaya calls his transition from fashion to home décor a "natural progression, something which all leading designers across the world including Ralph Lauren, Fendi, Versace, and others have traditionally done.” JJ Valaya is the Founder and Creative Director or Valaya Homes and he has been in the art deco space since 1996. 
Founded in 1920, Obeetee Carpets is among the oldest hand-woven carpet companies in the world. The company has over 25,000 dedicated artisans engaged in its carpet manufacture. Apart from the luxury hotels in India, their rugs are also present at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.  While constantly playing with design and textures, Obeetee boasts of a bank of 4,000 colour-fast shades of wool.  

Obeetee Carpets has recently launched a store in Delhi and has plans to expand to 10 stores in the coming three years. The association with JJ Valaya has resulted in 14 unique concepts for luxury silk carpets inspired by the Jamawar shawl. “The home décor space is very important for us now,” Valaya adds.