Gossamer Weaves

I am fascinated by the gossamer metallic weaves of textile designer Sophie Mallebranche. Her innovative, 100% metal woven fabrics combine industrial materials such as stainless steel, copper and brass threads. Linen, silk and cotton threads may also be added. Sophie Mallebranche's "fabrics" catch the light, as well as let it shine through.  

Ms. Mallebranche graduated from the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Appliqués Duperré and shortly thereafter won the  Talents à la Carte prize in 1999. Her beautiful metal fabrics have garnered her quite a following, with customers such as Guerlain, Plaza Athénée and the Chanel building in Tokyo.

 In 2008, Sophie joined forces with the prestigious Toiles de Mayenne mills (founded in 1806) to industrialize the fabric's manufacturing process. Before the collaboration with the mill, producing just 4cm of woven fabric took an hour. Now the fabric is woven at 2 meters per hour using fully adapted industrial equipment to weave the metals on a large scale.

Presently, Sophie and her partner, Guillaume Danset, run the Material Design Group with the goal to produce and create innovative materials. "Most of the time I bring something theatrical to the space. At that level, my creations can be considered to be architectural elements or interior textures. My starting point is to make an interesting response to the space. Then I concentrate on the joy of experimentation until I find solutions that may surprise myself."*

Some of her stunning work:

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Ateliers Sophie Mallebranche
20 rue de l’abbé de l’épée
75005 Paris
06 22 19 72 03
contact@sophiemallebranche.com