Xylomancia

Clothing or object? It is difficult to define the mysterious creations of Amaury Darras, alias Xylomancia. For this young designer and cabinetmaker, they are wearable sculptures, designed to envelop the body and become one with it. An encounter with a wood alchemist who defies classification.

There is a kind of magic in the transformation of wood. Under the hands of a carpenter, it reveals itself: its grain, its knots, its age, its irregularities. But also through its often unpredictable natural ageing process. It was in his grandfather’s workshop that Amaury Darras discovered the world of wood at a very young age and became viscerally attached to it. After training at the École Boulle and years of copying and prototyping, he began to question his profession.

“Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a designer, but not necessarily of furniture,” he confides. Wood undeniably attracts him. For a long time, he collected different types of wood in the form of veneers, fascinated by their nuances. But little by little, his relationship with the material changed. He sought to challenge it, to create a more physical, more direct connection with the human body. It was by subverting the codes of cabinetmaking and transposing them naturally into the field of fashion that he found his means of expression. A bridge between two worlds that seem to be polar opposites, but where gesture, technique and design occupy a central place.

To achieve these creations that hug the body, Amaury Darras developed a meticulous process that requires a thorough knowledge of the material. At first glance, his pieces appear to be carved from a single block, and that is the magic of the carpenter. Like a fashion designer, he begins by creating a full-scale pattern out of strips of cardboard. “The natural strength of cardboard allows me to construct volumes more accurately, compose them as I wish and thus anticipate possible constraints,” he explains. Once he has the right design, he assembles the wood, facet by facet, using the technique of marquetry to create organic, rounded shapes.

“People often think it’s 3D printing or sometimes leather. It was important for me to use a material that is familiar to the collective imagination,” explains the young designer. So he turned to French walnut burl to create his pieces. It is a capricious wood, extracted from the junctions of roots and branches, but its patterns and brown hue are eye-catching. Amaury Darras uses it to create a striking trompe-l’oeil, recomposing a perfect visual continuity to give the illusion of a single piece. A garment or armour that resembles a second skin.

Clothing, art object, installation… Amaury Darras’ creations defy categorisation. They take on meaning when they come into contact with the body, whatever form it may take. It is no coincidence that he chose the name Xylomancia, a divinatory art based on the observation of wood. Because that is what it is all about: bringing forth a form almost as if by magic and interpreting it. A finalist at this year’s 40th Hyères Festival, the designer is following a unique path, driven by his devotion to wood. Towards fashion today, towards furniture tomorrow, or elsewhere. Wherever the challenge of the material calls him. •

photos : Sirènide, Amaury Darras, 2024 © Samuel Fabia • Wooden suit, Amaury Darras, 2024 © Quentin MKA