Antonin Mongin – Researcher and craftsman-designer

Île-de-France – 1993

Antonin Mongin is a weaver and stands out for his attachment to hair as a weaving material. After graduating with a Bachelor of Art at Chelsea College of Fine Art and Design and a master’s degree in Textile Design at Arts Décoratifs, he completed a doctorate at EnsadLab about “The craft of cut hair – hair as a raw material for creating research through the practice of design”.

This year of research was decisive for Antonin Mongin who decided to rebuild this craft despite the reactions he encountered. He developed several protocols of creation to use the hair as an adapted material for traditional weaving techniques (knitting, weaving, felting), but also for contemporary ones (screen printing, 3D printing).

In 2021, he founded his own workshop, where he has been realizing commissions for private clients, hair stylists, haute couture houses (accessories and leather goods), jewellers, interior designers, and decorators (lighting, screens). All his creations are made-to-measure pieces made of hair, horsehair, sisal, or raffia fibres.

2022 – Laureate of the Fondation Banque Populaire.

2020 – Special Jury Prize for Fashion Accessories, 35th International Fashion, Photography and Accessories Festival.

2017 – Prix de la Jeune Création Métiers d’Art, Atelier d’Art de France.

Research and innovation

Antonin Mongin collects hair by donation which he works with a weaving, knitting or Jacquard loom. All his pieces are unique in their design and hair identity.

Hair is an inexhaustible natural fibre he weaves.  Because he didn’t know what to do with small hairs and split ends, he developed hair powder. It is used in many of his projects, to create filaments, textile prints and also jewellery.

Will to transmit

Hair is full of meaning and memories. Antonin Mongin’s know-how is based on the creation of objects with a strong significance, passed down from generation to generation. Today, he wishes to register his craft on the arts and crafts INMA list so that he can bring it back to life. He would also like to train apprentices in order to pass on his weaving techniques to future generations.

Fondation Rémy Cointreau has supported Antonin Mongin in the acquisition of a knitting machine and a second loom. Thanks to these new tools, he will be able to welcome apprentices.