Gilles Werbrouck

Textile creator

©MIKO MIKO STUDIO

Yearning for yarn

Gilles uses VHS tape in his murals and lamps
Knitting offers him the freedom he craves
He is part of a new generation of innovative knit designers

Gilles Werbrouck started by creating garments with ready made fabrics, but the limitations of this material quickly frustrated him. “I couldn’t do exactly what I had in mind with them,” he says. He then discovered the possibilities of knitting. “As a knit designer, you get to choose the yarn, the colours, the way you will knit it. It offers great freedom.” After working for some time in fashion, he felt the need to express himself in another way. “I realised that knitting is barely used for interior design, even though it’s a perfect medium for it.” Werbrouck decided to focus on murals and lamps. In 2017, he opened his own workshop. “At first in my former flat. It was just me, my yarn and my tools.” Shortly after, he established his current studio in Brussels.

Interview

©MIKO MIKO STUDIO

©MIKO MIKO STUDIO

What are your specialisations?: Lamps, murals, and the use of VHS tape. I love the memories linked to videotape, of rental movies or home movies for example. My idea is to give a new purpose to an otherwise obsolete material.
Do you master any specific techniques?: Crochet and domestic machine knitting. The domestic knitting machine that I prefer to work on, with punch cards for patterns, was made in Japan and is not manufactured anymore. I really would be lost without it.
What is less known about your work?: It involves a lot of maths. I start designing a piece by making a sample of 50 needles and rows. I then calculate how much a centimetre is in width (needles) and height (rows) to determine how many needles I need to start with.
Could your craft be considered in danger?: Not anymore, I would say, since there’s a whole movement of knit designers on the rise. This new generation is pushing the boundaries of knit in fashion and a couple of us are integrating knit in interior design.

Gilles Werbrouck is a rising star: he began his career in 2017