Romeo, Romeo...

Without ever leaving the ground, Romeo Gigli's magic carpets have already transported gallery-goers in Milan and London. The archly naive, spice-toned kilims, which will be on display at New York's Spazio Romeo Gigli next spring, bear such cosmic names as "Big Bang" and "Northern Lights." "I did not 'choose' the motifs," Gigli says of the saffron sunbursts and indigo galaxies erupting on his rugs. "They came to me. I had just come back from Greece and I had in mind the open surfaces of the seas, the sunsets and dawns." Celestial as his references may be, Gigli also has in mind earthier uses for his floor coverings, handwoven by Turkish peasants. Ideally, he says, he would like people "to step on them, lie down, and make love."

AMY FINE COLLINS