Gaspard Fleury-Dugy is a Paris-based designer and visual artist. His practice is nourished by textile techniques and the graphic vocabulary they unfold. For him, loops, stitches, and lines become the elements of a vibrant and joyful language. Celebrated internationally for his knitted sculptures, he is also a trapeze artist and likes to view his work as a sequence of supple and colorful pirouettes.
Trained at the École Duperré in Paris and at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås (Sweden), he developed from early on a distinctive universe where machine, digital technology, handcraft, and mind converge. For Gaspard Fleury-Dugy, knitting is building. In 2021, at just 22 years old, he distinguished himself by his ability to hack the industrial knitting machine—his “pencil”—to invent a new language in which yarn becomes volume, structure, and architecture. His knitted sculptures stand at the crossroads of technological innovation, fine craftsmanship, and imagination. Having rigorously programmed the knitting digitally, he then undertakes a hand re-knitting to bring the knit into volume and transform it into a genuine textile micro-architecture.
His first collection, ‘Soft Objects’, unveils three-dimensional pieces with a strong and immediately recognizable visual identity. These knitted sculptures, with their organic forms and futuristic accents, evoke at once ancient amphorae, the curves of Oscar Niemeyer, the graphic world of the Memphis movement, and the pixelated aesthetics of the digital age. Fluorescent colors, inspired by sportswear, emphasize folds and tensions, endowing each piece with an almost vibratory intensity.
Winner of the 2023 Sisley Young Creators Grant, he has confirmed a rising trajectory through the Design Weeks of Paris, Milan, Eindhoven, and Stockholm. In 2024, his work was presented in the window display of the Centre Pompidou boutique in Paris. In 2025, he is the only French designer selected for the exhibition ‘Design Beyond Things: A collective exhibition representing the new lexicon of European design’,at the European Pavilion of the World Expo in Osaka, Japan. The same year, he also takes part in ‘Design Disco Club’at the Fondation Lafayette Anticipations, an exhibition highlighting a new generation of creators redefining the boundaries of contemporary design andarchitecture.
A rising figure on the international scene of textile design, Gaspard Fleury-Dugy continues hisresearch between knitted sculptures, light experiments, and graphic works. A collection of knitted lamps is currently in preparation.
Born in 1999, Gaspard Fleury-Dugy graduated in Applied Arts from the École Duperré in Paris (2021) and holds a Master’s degree in Textile Design from the Swedish School of Textiles, University of Borås (Sweden, 2023). He lives and works in Paris.
My creative path… began with curiosity rather than intention. I was fascinated by how materials behave, how they move, fold, and transform. During my studies, I discovered that textiles are systems, meaning structures built from rhythm, tension, and repetition. That discovery shaped the way I design today: as a constant negotiation between intuition and material intelligence.
My love for thread… began with fascination for its logic—how a single line can generate complex structures. Moving toward 3D knitting was a natural extension of that curiosity, allowing thread, code, and the machine to build shape together.
The first object I created… was a knitted vessel looking like tableware imperfect and unstable, but full of potential. It taught me that softness can hold shape. My work today is more precise, but the intuition behind that first piece remains the same.
France influences me… through its long culture of craftsmanship, and precision. At the same time, there is a French spirit of daring that encourages experimentation. My work sits at that intersection: heritage, invention, and the courage to push further.
My inspiration comes from… contrasts organic forms like seaweed or buterfly wings, mixed with the bold colours of sportswear or the glitches of digital screens. Architecture is another constant reference. And often, the most exciting ideas come from accidents on the knitting machine.
My work uses textile… thinking to create objects that behave like soft architecture. I work between digital design and machine logic, letting control and unpredictability coexist. The result is a language of forms that feels playful, structural, and quietly surreal.
Colour plays a structural role. I use strong palettes to reveal the rhythm of the knit and the transitions of volume. My choices also comes from intuition shaped by travel, exhibitions…
I’m still at the beginning of my journey… Receiving the Sisley Grant for Young Creators and showing work during Paris Design Week were important first steps. I’m now focused on building collaborations that will allow my ideas to grow.
My goal is… to expand the scale of my work and think as an ensemblier—creating whole environments. I’m exploring natural fibres and refining the dialogue between digital tools and knit construction, while seeking collaborations with engineers and researchers. I also would like to colaborate with brands or widow displays or patterns on different surfaces
In what ways my art elevates aesthetics… the material constantly pushes me somewhere unexpected, refining my eye for form and colour. Working at larger scales shifts my perspective, and I feel I’m bringing something new to textile.
My new collection… is built around the idea of the totem. It explores vertical knitted forms influenced by amphoras, columns, and Niemeyer’s curves. The pieces bring together ancient references, digital rhythms, and bold colour, creating soft sculptures.
My philosophy… begins with the thread, drawing and constructing ith it. I embrace tensions between craft and digital, softness and structure. I aim to create forms that feel, joyful, and full of movement but also technical. I like to reconect people to the way its done. People are often surprised my pieces are knitted and I like to remind them it is the same technique than the pullover
My work is represented… by Galerie BSL and Galerie Obras. I also show regularly at design weeks. There is of course innstagram to know more about coming exhibitions !
In ten years…I hope to be creating environments, collaborating across disciplines, traveling through residencies, and working in a studio-laboratory. Above all, still experimenting.
I’ve travelled to Greece… three times. I’m inspired by antique museums, by ceramics, columns, and mosaics. The blend of structure and mythology resonates with my current exploration of totemic forms.
My dream projrct… A large-scale immersive environment made entirely from textile structure .A soft knitted pavilion or landscape developed with engineers and artisans, where people could move through
Entering a room… I notice the relationships between shapes, colours, and materials. Then I look at how objects are made,the know-how behind them. I move closer to materials to understand their behaviour. And a room without colour rarely interests me.
I admire… Oscar Niemeyer, Ettore Sottsass, Verner Panton, and the writings of Alessandro Mendini. Björk inspires me for her total universe. I’m also drawn to artists who treat material as a language, transforming simple gestures into powerful structures .
An exhibition I will never forget… Tomás Saraceno’s ON AIR at the Palais de Tokyo. Walking into that world of suspended threads and floating structures felt like entering a living ecosystem. It showed me how textiles can become environments, not just objects.
My advice would be… to dare colour, in your home, your clothes, your life. Colour brings joy, confidence, and freedom.
The last thing I bought and loved… A trapeze. It was a long-time dream. Its vibrant blue colour and the practice itself resonate with my work the pirouettes, the suspension, the controlled risk.
My favourite work of art… I’m deeply moved by James Turrell’s installations, where colour becomes almost physical. The vibration of light, sometimes to the point of retinal saturation
Favourite guilty pleasure… Chocolate, colourful stickers, and anything orange
On my reading list… Alessandro Mendini, Semper’s architectural essays, L’Origine de la danse by Pascal Quignard, and Le Mou et ses Formes from Maurice fréchuret. I’m also rereading Calvino’s Le Baron perché and keeping Monsieur Palomar nearby.
In another life I would have been… A trapeze artist. The balance, the suspension, the colourful world of circus tents, …
Three places I love and return to…The seaside for its rhythm, museums of ancient art for their timeless forms, and circus spaces for their movement, ropes, and colour.
My dream dinner party… Something like a Baz Luhrmann Gatsby scene, colourful and surreal. I’d invite Calvino, Björk, Mendini, Sottsass, Panton, Calatrava, and Anni Albers.
Credit Photo @Cécile Rosenstrauch
