It has been 100 years since Eileen Grey – the Irish designer and architect broadly thought to be probably the most influential figures of Twentieth-century trendy design – launched her ‘Bibendum’ chair. With its daring, sculptural kind, the chair challenged standard concepts of what trendy furnishings could possibly be, and stays one among Grey’s most recognisable and celebrated works.
Aram, which has held the worldwide licence for Grey designs since 1973 and labored carefully with the designer throughout her lifetime, is marking the centenary with the launch of a restricted collector’s version. Launched precisely a century after the chair was first conceived in 1926, the version is restricted to only 100 items.
(Picture credit score: Ollie Tomlinson)
(Picture credit score: Ollie Tomlinson)
The ‘Bibendum’ chair occupies a uncommon place between purposeful furnishings, sculptural kind and cultural artefact. It’s celebrated for its daring and unconventional building: a backrest shaped from a stack of padded cylindrical cushions, paired with a generously proportioned seat and supported by a tubular metal body. The chair takes its identify from the unique Michelin Man, Bibendum – a reference that highlights Grey’s signature wit.
All through the late Nineteen Twenties and Thirties, Grey integrated the ‘Bibendum’ chair into plenty of her most vital inside tasks, together with a 1933 fee for trend entrepreneur Juliette Lévy. Early examples have been upholstered in cloth or skai, a leather-like vinyl, and have been proven at Grey’s Jean Desert gallery in Paris.
(Picture credit score: Ollie Tomlinson)
These unique variations are actually exceptionally uncommon, with solely two believed to stay in non-public possession. Immediately, the ‘Bibendum’ chair is most frequently encountered in museum collections. Nevertheless, Aram’s long-standing relationship with Grey has enabled it to protect the authenticity of her work whereas presenting it to new generations – the centenary version displays this strategy.
Produced in collaboration with ClassiCon, the sublicensee for Grey designs outdoors the UK, the centenary version is upholstered in Sørensen Duet nubuck gold leather-based, chosen for its softness and evolving patina, and completed with a nickel-plated base that recollects the tone and sheen of early fashions. Each bit is individually stamped with its version quantity, reinforcing its exclusivity and provenance.
A century after its creation, the ‘Bibendum’ chair stays as compelling as ever. The centenary version not solely honours Grey’s legacy, but additionally reaffirms the chair’s place as a landmark of recent design, destined to be treasured by future generations.
Aram
‘Bibendum’ chair 100 years restricted version
Supply: Wallpaper
