Lucas Lecacheur redefines surfboard aesthetics at Melbourne Design Week
From cowboy boot noses to boards dragged through the Australian bush, Lucas Lecacheur’s exhibition challenges conventional surf culture while maintaining functional integrity.
French designer and former rock musician Lucas Lecacheur is currently undertaking a six-week residency in Australia, presenting his unconventional surfboards and skateboards at At The Above gallery in Fitzroy as part of Melbourne Design Week. Lecacheur, who grew up on the French island of Île de Ré, exhibits functional yet avant-garde designs inspired by nature and Brutalist architecture, including boards shaped like crab pincers, stingrays, and cowboy boots.
For this exhibition, Lecacheur has introduced two new pieces specifically crafted for the event. The first, titled Château Rouge, is a 10-foot surfboard featuring a cowboy boot nose and a forked tail. The second is a board shaped by dragging a surfboard blank behind a ute in the Australian bush, a process that collected debris such as wood, grass, and dirt which will be preserved in resin.
The exhibition also showcases Lecacheur’s experimental fins, including the spiky metal Total Mayhem, the Hook, and the Bat Fin no.6, alongside his White Fin Project photography series. This series attaches white surfboard fins to everyday objects to encourage imagination, reflecting his broader aim to push design boundaries and foster individuality in craft.
Lecacheur’s approach to design is deeply personal, often shaped while wearing vintage 80s and 90s suits by designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Armani, and Givenchy. He describes style as a muscle, believing that dressing differently can influence creative outcomes. His boards are manufactured using traditional methods and materials, such as fibreglass and epoxy, in surfboard factories, ensuring that the outlandish forms remain functional.
During his time in Australia, Lecacheur visited Bells Beach, where he noted enthusiastic reactions from onlookers who described his designs as sick. He has also tested his Medusa board, noting the challenge of its massive flex tail and lack of a leash loop, but describing the experience as a return to the feeling of being a beginner. Lecacheur, who has an established following in Japan and the US, continues to tour globally, seeking to reinterpret surfing through performance and avant-garde forms.