FROM KNIT TO FORM
By Marie Godfrain
In the window of Galerie BSL in Paris’s 6th arrondissement, or in the squash court at Villa Noailles in Hyères, Gaspard Fleury-Dugy’s vases are hard to miss. With their vivid colours and three-dimensional knitted texture, they take a textile technique traditionally associated with clothing and give rise to unexpected shapes, somewhere between ancient amphorae and traditional basketry. To others, they resemble figures from a parallel world, halfway between underwater life and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Gaspard Fleury-Dugy discovered his passion for knitting while studying for a BTS diploma at École Duperré. His encounter with a knitting machine kept at the school was a revelation. “This tool became my pencil. Since then, I have developed a knitting technique based on traditional know-how, which I have made my own to create three-dimensional objects.”
Among these are vases, which he is presenting at Design Parade, as well as a mirror produced by Moustache for the autumn season. In September, he will also begin a residency at the Les Ateliers de Paris incubator. “It will help me structure my business and manage all the things I face every day that are outside my profession. It will also help me develop this knitting technique for acoustic panels, wall coverings and other large-scale elements for interior architects. I will be able to do that thanks to the workshop where I will spend my residency,” says the designer, looking forward to the possibilities offered by this opportunity.
