VIEWS | ISSUE 01
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47
I
NTERVIEW
A SHORT CONVERSATION WITH MARIO BELLINI
Although Mario Bellini’s “Le Bambole” collection might be hitting
50 this year, its impact and relevance on the world of furniture
design is as strong as ever. Just look at a recent Corriere Della Sera
photo shoot featuring the sprightly octogenarian Italian maestro
himself lying, legs in the air, on an armchair from the new
collection that revives those cult 1972 designs.
“As often happens, the name came to me at once,” says Bellini recalling
the moment he baptised the project “Le Bambole” (Italian for
“Dolls”) whose form, structure and personality was inspired
by those lovable rag dolls all children know. Those soft yet
reassuringly sturdy little figures, sitting, or thrown on the floor,
self-supported by stuffing made of who knows what, gave
Le Bambole their identity.
Their random arrangement in a space signifying the freedom
of expression that was the spirit of those times. Bellini’s own
notes on the designs spoke of Le Bambole in abstract, almost
transgressive terms: “You can sit on the Bambola, she is jolly and
giving, supple and eager to comfort you, she hugs you, as that is what
she is made of.” B&B Italia’s innovative use of polyurethane foam
with a hidden metal skeleton deep within rendered Bellini’s
imagined doll into an armchair that was casually playful and
stylishly comfy in equal measure.
MARIO BELLINI IS AN ARCHITECT AND DESIGNER INTERNATIONALLY
RENOWNED. HE RECEIVED THE GOLDEN COMPASS AWARD EIGHT TIMES
AND 25 OF HIS WORKS ARE IN THE PERMANENT DESIGN COLLECTION
OF THE NEW YORK MOMA, WHICH DEDICATED TO HIM A PERSONAL
RETROSPECTIVE IN 1987. HIS ACTIVITIES RANGE FROM ARCHITECTURE
AND URBAN PLANNING TO PRODUCT AND FURNITURE DESIGN.
Bellini's own carefree pose in April 2022 is obviously a tongue-
in-cheek reference to photographer Oliviero Toscani’s ravishing,
original shoot of Le Bambole featuring American model and
Andy Warhol muse, Donna Jordan. Speaking of the revamped
and radically renewed version of Le Bambole, Bellini is gushing;
“I feel the pleasure of revisiting this family again” he says wistfully,
“because it confirms to me that it has anything but aged, on the contrary,
it is enjoying a thriving and promising second life.”
While maintaining their unmissable shape and embracing
comfort, in the new Le Bambole evolutions in material and
engineering technology ensure that the collection can be
disassembled and is therefore easily recyclable.
Looking at those images of Donna Jordan on Le Bambole,
topless, in only jeans and black cowboy boots kicking in the
air, it is almost impossible to believe they are half a century
old. Famously those pictures were immediately censored when
revealed at the Salone del Mobile in 1972. But both they, and
Bellini’s collection they embellished, soon became recognized
as part of the style zeitgeist. To celebrate their 50th birthday,
Le Bambole are refreshed with some noticeable improvements,
above all, they are as desirable as ever.
Dolled Up and Hitting Fifty
