The iconic Sacco beanbag redefined laidback living.
Hatched at a time when boundaries were being tested, the Sacco is the ultimate easy chair, writes Chris Pearson.
The year was 1968. Flower power was flourishing and women’s liberation was finding its feet. In an era of newfound freedoms, homeowners, too, were looking for more relaxed interiors. The conversation pit was de rigueur, modular sofas extended into ottomans and the hip slept on waterbeds.
Designers pursued novel, often deconstructed, furnishing solutions. Zanotta had released its frameless Throw-Away sofa in 1965 and its Blow inflatable chair in 1967. Three Italian architects, Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro (pictured above, from left), had their own ideas.
“We were interested in designing flexible objects that could adapt to different situations,” said Gatti in 1988. “So we began thinking about a material that would allow for this adaptability.”
Drawing inspiration from a peasant’s mattress filled with chestnut leaves, they devised the Sacco, or Sack, chair. Taking an outer liner, they stuffed it with ‘semi-fluid’ materials, ones that would mould to the sitter. First, the trio tried marbles (too heavy), then mini ping-pong balls (too expensive). Then they spotted polystyrene, used in the building trade for heat- and sound-proofing. Eureka! Next they made vinyl prototypes, which languished in their studio. “We never thought anyone would want to make it,” said Gatti.
How wrong they were. When a US magazine wanted to feature the trio’s latest building designs, the architects included a photo of their prototype. A few months later, they received a call from Macy’s department store, saying it had seen the article – and wanted 10,000 Saccos.
Fortuitously, Gatti, Paolini and Teodoro had recently had a stand opposite Zanotta at the Eurodomus trade fair. Thinking Zanotta might be the perfect business partner, the trio took their prototype to the company founder, Aurelio Zanotta. “He immediately understood the idea behind the project,” says Zanotta’s Daniela De Ponti. “The Sacco anatomical easy chair was born.”
WHAT IT MEANS TO US
Zanotta’s faith in the Sacco was just the beginning for the beanbag, as it became known. Inexpensive, low maintenance and portable, millions have graced living rooms, playrooms and beach houses, the concept copied in countless profiles and with covers in vinyl, leather and cotton-nylon mixes. Zanotta’s original outsold anything else in its catalogue at the time. And, as it approaches its half century, the Sacco is still a bestseller at Zanotta, even if there are many copies, says De Ponti.
Confirmation of its iconic status? Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum has a vibrant pink one on permanent display.
Australian safety regulations require that the beads be sold separately from the cover, accompanied by a warning not to eat the beans. Despite that constraint, the Sacco moulds itself beautifully to our laidback lifestyle.
ABOVE Gatti, Paolini and Teodoro. from left A 2000 ad campaign demonstrating the Sacco’s support and mouldability. Beloved by the fashion-forward, now even groovier in Missoni Jessie (left) and Zanotta Solid fabrics.