This immersive workshop explored
footwear design through the materiality of wool.
Workshop (2026) with Herding Wool, Ugo Bompas, Alix Arto, Emma Casella
Over one week, first and second year Bachelor industrial design students
experimented with both contemporary and traditional shaping techniques,
using innovative wool-based materials to develop hands-on prototypes
and investigate wool’s potential in contemporary shoe design.
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Building on this research, each participant developed and prototyped a
shoe, expressing both a personal sensitivity to wool and an individual
vision of footwear design.
The workshop encouraged an open exploration of typologies, from boots
and sandals to slippers and sneakers, indoor to outdoor, allowing diverse
interpretations and forms to emerge.
MA PRODUCT DESIGN
with Christophe Guberan, Camille Blin
Following a collaboration with the Swiss avant-garde brand On, ECAL is proud to present the interdisciplinary work carried out jointly by the 2nd year students of the Product Design, Photography and Type Design Masters.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Maddalena Casadei, Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard
Interested by objects as evidence of a specific civilisation and culture, I returned to Provence to identify what characterises my culture and what underlies my identity. Mistral is an ode to the sun, to shadows, to strolling, and to time that lasts. I carried out research around a natural material: the straw. I met a hat-maker who passed on her knowledge and skills to me, and I designed a collection of objects that play with shadows, resulting in the creation of hats that are easy to carry around, so that you can take a bit of the South wherever you go.
MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP
by Charitini Gkritzali, Xavier Perrenoud, Nicolas Le Moigne, Luca Nichetto
The Astonishing Moment of Life Inspired by the Surrealist movement and the desire to find magic and wonder in the familiar and everyday life, this project features shapes and emblematic Hermès accessories that interact to form two subtly choreographed installations. These two window displays, imagined by Greek designer Charitini Gkritzali, a student in the Master of Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship at ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, are an interpretation of Hermès' 2023 annual theme, “Astonishment”, offering a moment that oscillates between reality and dreams.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Elric Petit
Figure libre is an industrial design project realized in correlation with the thesis topic of the 3rd year students. They were advised to choose a field that the students would like to pursue after their studies. This free exercise allowed each student to express themselves on the subject of their choice. Whether it was about furniture, mobility, connected objects or so many other possible subjects, each subject treated seriously became fascinating.
MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP
by Nathanaël Baby, Luca Nichetto, Nicolas Le Moigne, Xavier Perrenoud
The Hermès Printing Company Inspired by the aesthetics of rotary printing presses, this project allows passers-by to immerse themselves in a graphic and artistic universe. Through the ten windows of the store, “L’Imprimerie Hermès” is a reinterpretation of the main stages of printing: everything starts with rolls of paper, which are then deployed in large strips, until they become posters. The paper, in all its forms, is printed along its length by repeating the story of a letter published in six different languages (French, English, Italian, German, Chinese and Japanese) by the magazine Le Monde d'Hermès. A layout specially created for this project incorporates large areas of color in order to frame and highlight the accessories from the different Hermès universes. They thus seem to come to life and become part of the story.
