Rug manufacturer Safavieh will launch Safavieh Couture, a new brand name and operating division devoted to the company's growing stable of licensed designer programs at the Atlanta International Area Rug Market in January. The new name includes the introduction of three new designer licensing programs, which follow on the heels of Safavieh's collection by Thomas O'Brien that launched in January 2006.

“Safavieh Couture will be the umbrella brand for all of Safavieh's licensed rug collections by interior designers,” said Arash Yaraghi, principal of Safavieh. “We have selected our new design partners, Jamie Drake, David Easton and Suzanne Kasler, because they are world-class interior designers, each with a very particular taste that is different and unique.”

The celebrated designers will kick off their collections with a roundtable seminar for retailers sponsored by Amercasmart University at the Safavieh showroom on Jan. 8, 2009, from 4 to 4:30 p.m., During their seminar, entitled “Building Consumer Confidence — the Value of Designer Area Rugs,” Easton, Drake and Kasler will introduce their rug collections for Safavieh Couture, and explain how retailers can teach customers the value of decorating from the rug up. The designers will show how they create design schemes based on the colors and pattern of an area rug, and make the rug the focal point of the room.

“Retailers will learn first-hand how to close sales by putting designer names to work for them, how to help their customers cut through the clutter on the sales floor and how to empower consumers with confidence in their decorating decisions,” Yaraghi said.

Safavieh Couture will officially debut at Safavieh's Americasmart showroom with a ribbon cutting ceremony and cocktail party following the seminar.

This move comes in response to a growing national and international trend (in both fashion and home products) called up-scaling. “Consumers today have more sophisticated taste levels than ever before, largely because of HGTV, shelter magazines and the design blogs on the Internet,” Yaraghi said. “These consumers want the style of designer rugs they see in the media, which invariably are clean, transitional, and geared to contemporary lifestyles.”

Each designer will launch 10 to 12 rugs in their Safavieh Couture collection in January. The rugs will be hand-knotted in the finest weaving centers Safavieh has developed around the world, using 100% high-quality wool or combinations of wool and silk. The retail price for a 6x9 rug will start at $1,500.

“Our goal is to provide rugs by designers who set the trends these smart young consumers admire. Our designers often create custom rugs for their own clients' homes, but because Safavieh's rugs are programmed, they provide the designers' signature looks at affordable prices,” Yaraghi said.