Cécile Gray: the architect of metallic Knits

Returning to matter

Architect by training, Cécile Gray feels a deep desire to return to matter and work on the scale of the body, exploring the movement and supple materials that have always captivated her imagination. "I was trained to think in 3 dimensions and design in volume, this is part of the characteristics of my work ".

In 2016, she undertook a reconversion, joining the Chardon Savard fashion school. During this period, her textile research led her to explore metallic knits:"I started weaving with cablé wire and crush beads, which are metals usually found in fancy jewelry" explains Cécile Gray. This novel technique of transforming these elements into a material in their own right marks the beginning of her creative adventure.

Photo credit: © Gabrielle GAYRAUD

As a fashion student, she naturally turned to constructing garments from this unique material. The result? A collection of jewelry-clothing, fusing jewelry materials with weaving and setting methods. "I construct the pieces as garments with sleeves, collars and volumes. The idea is to decompartmentalize things, it's a know-how that's really at the intersection between jewelry, weaving and embroidery." Cécile has thus developed a unique technique at the crossroads of savoir-faire.

In 2018, her garment-jewelry project won the Audience Award at the Hyères Festival, a significant milestone in her career. Joining Ateliers de Paris in 2021 marks an entrepreneurial turning point, allowing Cécile to have her own workshop, refine her positioning and create a profession aligned with her values "I kind of built my profession to measure based on what I loved" she explains. In 2022, she was awarded the prestigious ELLE & LVMH Artisans Prize.

Photo credit: © Gabrielle GAYRAUD

A savoir-faire of excellence and patience

Experience at luxury homes was crucial in training for her profession. Working with the finest materials at Hermès and exploring the world of embroidery at Home Lemarié enabled her to develop her skills to a high standard.

Her material of choice, metallic Knits, offers a solid base, but the delicacy of the threads, demands patience and precision. Each piece requires meticulous preliminary work, with the construction of a grid on paper serving as a pattern. The weaving of the Knits, combined with the beads to be crushed, requires anticipation and visualization of the final volume: "there's a whole lot of upstream work on the patternmaking, since once it's assembled you can't recut or enlarge."

The construction of these unique pieces is a meditative process for Cécile. Each piece can require up to 200 hours of work.

This cross-fertilization of savoir-faire is also reflected in her desire to transcend scales:"for me, it's also about decompartmentalizing what is a piece of jewelry, a garment, a sculpture and really bringing this technique to several scales, in several universes like, for example, dressing perfume bottles, accessories or even in interior architecture and concept retail"she explains.

Her customers, mainly from the Luxury sector, are won over by her innovative approach and ability to create bespoke pieces.

Cécile Gray explains her experimental process with passion:"I love seeing the construction in real time, seeing the piece unfold in front of us, we can't wait to take it out of its template to see what it looks like in volume once worn. I also like the challenge of being in contact with the material and seeing how you can interact with it. It's all part of my design process. It involves testing and seeing what happens afterwards."

Photo credits: © Will and Joann ©Jean-Philippe LEBÉE

His next big projects are to take part in the Home d'Exception show at Première Vision and to develop his research into the sourcing of materials and their traceability, thus guaranteeing quality and durability.

Thanks to her multidisciplinary approach, blending the artisanal savoir-faire of architecture, fashion and jewelry, Cécile Gray has fashioned a bespoke profession that offers a fascinating insight into the limitless power of design.

For more information: https://cecilegray.fr/