SEAT SUCCESS
When it comes to seating, comfort is always going to be key, and designers are opting for a form-follows-function approach here. Michal Riabic neatly captures this in his Moon chair for Ton. As he puts it: “It’s an unobtrusive design for which I have put great emphasis on ergonomics from the very beginning of the development process, thereby providing exceptional seating comfort.”
Another top pick from Salone del Mobile is Knoll’s Krusin collection, a family of chairs “that are silently attuned to the surrounding space”.
The majority of chairs launched were new designs, but a handful were updates that were significant given their rich history. Take the Coco chair by Italian manufacturer Matteograssi. This was taken out of production in 2013 but resurrected by Walter Knoll in 2016 as the Saddle chair. The thick leather cover moulds to the curves and folds of the steel understructure for what we can confirm is first-class seating comfort.
Then there is the Diva chair, desig ned by Roberto Lazzeroni for Poltrona Frau. An evolution of the Vittoria chair – currently celebrating its 20th anniversary – Diva is a timeless product in its own right. Note the curled top on the backrest (a nod to the classics) that’s offset by the clean modern lines of the frame and the wooden legs.
Of course, understated design can be translated in any number of ways. For Promemoria, it’s all about the rich mix of materials: its Vespertine dining chair comprises a black-stained beech frame coupled with a leather seat and backrest. For Swedish studio Front, simplicity centres around a feminine vibe, captured by its Draped chair for Porro.
Elsewhere, there is a distinctly Nordic look to a large number of dining chair designs. A favourite of ours is Zanotta’s June chair, which boasts a distinctive fusion of natural elegance and function. The material of choice is wood, in varying degrees of thickness for the backrest, with the seat covered in fabric or leather.
“The greatest challenge was attaching the backrest to the removable padding without using visible screws,” says designer Frank Rettenbacher. “After intensive consultation with the technical team, we arrived at a concealed attachment that sees the backrest ‘floating’ above the seat.”
Over at MisuraEmme, it was a case of blending a classic style with a contemporary mood to create the Cleò chair, which comprises a solid oak base that supports an upholstered seat and backrest. Elsewhere, Miniform has updated its Claretta chair by Florian Schmid. His inspiration? The bistros in Paris during the post-impressionist years.
The best expression of dining simplicity is to be found at Magis, which launched the Bouroullec brothers’ Officina collection in 2015. This year the collection has been expanded to include a chair that echoes the forged iron structure of the tables, combined with shells in a range of different materials. The beauty of this collection lies in its subtle differences: the raw material features slight imperfections, giving each piece its own character.
Officina fits neatly with the continuing trend for rustic elegance, a look that’s summed up by pieces made from traditional materials, shaped in traditional forms but given a 21st-Century twist.