You are what you sit on

Do the objects around us influence our style, or does our style dictate the objects around us? Probably a bit of both. Little by little, we tend to surround ourselves with objects that respond to our personal sense of aesthetics. We are attracted to certain brands which we identify with, that emulate the lifestyle we would love to have.

As in the opening scene of ‘101 Dalmatians’, we thought it might be interesting to match people up a chair that reflects their fashion sense.

This gentleman’s style has a distinct ‘old world’ flair, the nostalgia of which is translated in the ‘Rememberme’ chair, made by upcycling its owner’s discarded clothes.  

Prints love company, and the more you put together, the better it looks. You can’t go much more overboard than the ‘Binta’ chair by Moroso, or so you’d think until someone in a colorful printed coat sits on it. 

For those lazy weekends spent lounging around eating bonbons and cotton candy, what better than a huge pink sheet of a dress and a matching slouchy armchair? 

For those who prefer a nice chunky wool sweater (or dress), the ‘Biknit’ by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso has that same ‘my mother made it’ feel, although in a slightly larger scale.

If you dress for rain on bright sunshiny days, then vinyl might be your upholstery of choice. For a glossy-purple man like the gentleman pictured above, the strict lines and bright colors of the ‘Cabrio’ by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani make perfect sense. 

 

The chair equivalent of a bold pinstriped suit with a little flair is the ‘Paper Planes’ by Moroso. It says “I’m functional but I’m not afraid to have a little fun!”

For some people, everything just comes up roses. 

by Claire Toussaint

Alternative Upholstery

Beyond fiber and down, here is a series of furniture pieces where designers tried to think differently about upholstery…

Tokujin Yoshioka uses fabric in a completely different way to create a flower-like effect for the ‘Bouquet’ chair. The upholstery of hand sewn fabric ‘petals’ becomes the cushion rather than covering one.

What Hans Bellmer did to his girlfriend Unica Zurn (see below), Meike Harde is doing to foam mats, creating a not only aesthetically interesting but functional pieces with integrated storage.

'Tenir au Frais' by Hans Bellmer

Somewhere between Christo and a spider, the Thread-wrapping-machine designed by Anton Alvarez envelops pieces of furniture in colorful thread, replacing nails and screws to hold it together, with surprising results.

A close cousin of knit-bombing, this crochet method is an interesting way to dress up some of the less padded furniture options. Le Corbusier’s LC4 has never looked so cozy.

Why separate pillows from the sofa when the whole composition could be covered in a single slip-cover?

 

Who says sofas should be filled with either foam or down? Certainly not Ola Giertz, who decided to fill transparent poufs with hair. Modern take on old-timey mattresses? Quite a novel eco-friendly idea, although I’m not sure it passes CA 117.

By Claire Toussaint