Mallebranche graduated in 1998 from the École supérieure des arts appliqués Duperré in Paris. Mallebranche invented new methods of weaving to give the malleability and suppleness of textiles to the industrial materials she used. Her first woven metal materials attracted the attention of the interior designer, Andrée Putman,[11] and the architect, Peter Marino.[12] Mallebranche's went on to adorn Chanel's historic address on Rue Cambon in Paris along with the brand's building in Tokyo's Ginza neighborhood. She also created exclusive materials for Arcelor, Balenciaga, Laurent-Perrier, and the French crystal brand, Daum.[1]
In 2004, selected by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Association française d'action artistique (AFAA), an artistic and cultural association, Mallebranche exhibited at Tokyo Designers Block, one of Japan's largest design events.[13] In 2005, she conceived an exclusive material for Guerlain to decorate their flagship store at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris. She also created a 100% stainless steel material in large dimensions for the curtains at the Alain Ducasse restaurant at the Plaza Athénée in Paris.[14] This creation was awarded an Étoile from the Observeur du Design in 2006. That same year, she received a Design Award in the Innovative Materials category at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York.
To promote her work internationally, Mallebranche created the company Eh Oui with Evelyne Skorochod[15] —a company she left in 2009—then registered the trademark Sophie Mallebranche®. She created Material Design Group with Guillaume Danset in 2010 to industrialize the production process and respond to increasing demand from interior architects.[1] Backed by the Centre Francilien de l’Innovation, Oséo and Paris Pionnières,[16] they developed a new industrial process, capable of weaving Mallebranche's designs while preserving the look of her handwoven work.[17] They entered a partnership with Toiles de Mayenne,[18] a 200-year-old textile manufacturer located in Fontaine-Daniel in France's Mayenne region to put this new process in place. Today, Material Design Group possesses its independent production site.
Exhibitions
2004 : Contemplation, Tokyo Designers Block exhibition, Hanezawa Garden, Tokyo, Japan.
^« Architects and designers such as Peter Marino and Patrick Jouin have commissioned […] wall covering for commercial clients such as Chanel, Guerlain, and the Plaza Athénée » : House & Garden, septembre 2007.
