Profile

Trained at the Lycée Octave Feuillet, a leading French institution in featherwork, Julien Vermeulen is an exceptional designer who blends tradition and innovation with rare mastery. A graduate with a BTS (Advanced Vocational Diploma) in Fashion Design and a Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts and Art History, he quickly established himself as a key figure in the world of haute couture and art.

Since 2015, his workshop has collaborated with major fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Givenchy, Cartier, Lanvin, Schiaparelli, and Dolce & Gabbana, bringing a unique signature to each of his creations, combining delicacy and audacity. In 2020, he joined a Parisian fashion house that represents him and marked a turning point by presenting his artistic work for the first time at the "La Promenade du Collectionneur" exhibition at the Solvay Hotel in Brussels.
Feathers are much more than just a material: they are an infinite source of exploration. Respecting ancestral techniques, the workshop constantly pushes technical boundaries, inventing new ways to work with feathers—whether burned, curled, dyed, woven, or glued—to create works of art in their own right. Peacock, ostrich, goose, or pheasant: each feather becomes a centerpiece, be it a painting, a sculpture, or a decorative object. The work Black Ocean, created in 2017 for the Espace Toguna at the Palais de Tokyo, is a testament to this virtuosity. Composed of more than 12,000 meticulously cut and dyed turkey feathers, this 20-square-meter mural required a thousand hours of work in just fifteen days. This achievement earned Black Gem the prestigious Bettencourt Prize for the Intelligence of the Hand in 2018. More recently, in 2021, Black Gem was added to the permanent collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, confirming the art world's recognition of its talent. In 2022, Maison Vermeulen reinterpreted a console from the Mobilier National collection for the exhibition "Les Aliénés" (The Insane), creating Eden, a poetic and contemporary homage to feathers. Maison Vermeulen perfectly embodies the marriage of exceptional craftsmanship and contemporary creativity, making featherwork a living and constantly evolving art form.