The Lady armchair by Marco Zanuso, a point of departure for the creation of the modern armchair
Presented at the 9th Triennale of Milan in 1951 – where it won the Medaglia d’oro - the Lady armchair is an icon of modernity, the product of an important technical and material innovation which, turning the traditional way of creating armchairs on its head, involved the separate manufacture of the parts and their subsequent assembly.
Observing the graphical representation adopted by Zanuso we can understand the design process emblematic of his approach to industrial design. Indeed, the architect uses a design method deriving from the car industry, sketching out the various parts in order to see how they are all inter-related. The materials were also taken from the same sector, foam rubber and springs with nastrocord together marked the introduction of the first modern armchair.
This technical and methodological innovation spawned and gave formal consistency to different construction elements: seat, backrest and sides with different levels of padding depending on the support requirements dictated by the pressure exerted by the body.
Today, the aesthetics of the Lady armchair have been further updated with the new selection of Raf Simons fabrics introduced in the Everest collection by Cassina.
There is also an iconic version, one of the first produced, with black and white checked upholstery and feet painted in matt basalt, which highlights the stylistic, formal and cultural continuity of Zanuso’s works.
Measurements: 78x85xh.80cm
Materials:
upholstery: leather or fabric
frame: foam-covered iron
armrest: wood core with padding in polyurethane foam
base finish: painted matt basalt, black chrome, polished brass.
Designer: Marco Zanuso
Italy
