Tony Jouanneau

Tony Jouanneau is a designer, maker and the founder, in 2017, of Atelier Sumbiosis textile enhancement laboratory. His research is rooted in the virtuous principle of symbiosis, through an innovative association of living organisms and soft materials. Textiles are dyed using micro-algae, eaten by insects to create patterns, or printed with bacterial ink. These eco-friendly materials are then embellished by specialists in embroidery, pleating, weaving, marbling and other crafts – resulting in unique and exceptional pieces. Tony Jouanneau also teaches bio-design at École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle – Les Ateliers, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and Institut Français de la Mode, all in Paris.

ECHIRO* came about through a joint research project by Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matière Condensée at Paris-Sorbonne and Atelier Sumbiosis. Launched in 2015 by Marie Albéric, a biomaterials engineer at France’s national centre for scientific research (CNRS), the purpose of the study is to develop a means of extracting pigment from sea urchin skeletons and spines, an otherwise wasted resource, and apply it in sustainable textile dyeing processes.

Japan is the world’s largest consumer of sea urchins (around 60,000 tonnes a year). ECHIRO proposes to use this widely available material through a combination of ancestral textile dyeing methods and cutting-edge research into molecular biochemistry.

ECHIRO, at Villa Kujoyama, highlighted new means of finishing and embellishing textiles which takes advantage of an established form of consumption in Japanese society and which harnesses the country’s remarkable craft skills, as a springboard for virtuous production which can serve as an example for industry.

*contraction of the Latin word “echino”, meaning spine, and the Japanese word “iro” meaning colour.

Photos :
Le Paris des Talents: © Florent Mulot (2021)
SlowDevored: © Véronique Huyghe (2017)
Spirulab: © Véronique Huyghe (2017)
Undula: © Edern Haushofer (2022)