Art & Science of Épinglé Weaving and Textiles

 

A Thread Through Time: The Lost—and Found—Art of Épinglé Weaving

It began, as travel excursions often do, prompted by a sense of adventure, then curiosity. I decided to make the forty- minute drive to the outer edges of Brussels in 2016 to visit Max Bloch—a legendary fabric store floated among interior designers as something of a legend, a sanctuary for textile lovers with a deep reverence for craftsmanship.  It was there, among rooms stacked with fabric bolts that I first encountered the elusive and exquisite fabric known as épinglé.   The experience inspired me with the value of capturing artisanal effects as the medium for àpropos shoes.

 The owner of the shop, a connoisseur of textiles with a passion that felt almost sacred, introduced me to èpinglè, sharing his expertise almost reverentially as though a secret nearly lost to time. Épinglé, he explained, was more than fabric—it was a rare process, a textile alchemy. A weave so specialized and labor-intensive that it had all but vanished, quietly replaced by cheaper, faster, synthetic imitations. Art was, and would continue, yielding to science.

 

Fabric as art remains part of the developing process in the Flemish regions of Belgium, renowned for producing authentic Épinglé using traditional weaving techniques. This region continues to specialize in high-end upholstery fabrics sought after by interior designers worldwide.  Épinglé fabric uses a special loom to achieve its distinctive, textured results – as durable as they are exquisitely rendered. Over the past two decades, science has asserted itself over art, using technologies that render fabrics by spinning bamboo, wood cellulose and plastic into “textiles”.

Since Epinglé is a type of weave, not a material, it can be made of nearly any fiber, including cotton, linen to wool and silk - blends are also common. This specialized weaving process imparts a surprising resilience even to delicate fibers like silk and fine mohair.

 

The Velvet That Refused to Be Forgotten

 In the lineage of human creativity, textiles were our first canvas. Long before oils touched parchment, hands reached for thread. And among the most regal of weaves, épinglé stood apart. Originating in the 12th century in the Italian city of Lucca, épinglé—also called ciselé—was woven in pure silk, lush beyond reason. So exquisite, in fact, that only royalty and high clergy dared drape themselves in it. Pope Clement V counted lengths of red épinglé among his most treasured possessions; King Richard II of England famously requested to be buried in it. It adorned the courts of the Medicis and graced the canvases of Renaissance painters who knew texture was as much a symbol of power as a crown.

 

The process itself was—and remains—a marvel of textile engineering and technique that catches the light like fabric imbued with memory.

 

Between Art and Innovation

Fast-forward to the late 20th century, and the textile world looked quite different. The rise of science in fabric production brought innovations no one could have imagined. Bamboo became a blouse. Wood pulp turned into dresses. Even recycled plastics found new life as upholstery in hotels and airport lounges. These materials had a practical, often sustainable appeal—but somewhere along the way, artistry risked fading into obscurity. 

Today, designers are listening again.  The devotion of a few master weavers—and the curiosity of seekers willing to make the trip—maintain the thread to an exquisite form of art.

Our use of high-quality upholstery fabrics in various patterns designed for our small-scale shoes are intended to merge art and science for an artisanal look of comfort.  We hope it makes apropos footwear an accessorizing part of your style, and especially a functional part of your lifestyle for your everyday and travel adventures.  Effortless living one location to the next while turning heads wherever you go!

Charred Copper fabric was found at Max Bloch and became one of our most beloved offerings.  While it’s not an épinglé, it is a treasured reminder of a wonderful adventure where I learned something unforgettable in the realm of textiles.  We continue to choose textiles, as a form of art blended into science, for our unique shoes.