Sunset
Designed by Danish designer Børge Mogensen in 1959, Span-
ish Chair is one of the masterpieces created with a solid wood
frame and thick tanned leather. It was named so for it was
modeled after the chairs that use a single leather piece com-
mon among the Spanish aristocrats. Just like Hans J. Wegner
paved a path for the modern chair design by modeling the
China Chair and the Wishbone Chair after Ming Dynasty chairs,
chair-makers have always taken inspiration from the classics.
Passing on this legacy, Time & Style decided to take
Mogensen’s Spanish Chair as a motif to create a new chair
design that occurs naturally to the Japanese mind. The chair is
composed simply of two materials: a wooden frame and thick
tanned leather. The oak frame is processed at a chair factory
in Hiroshima Prefecture, and the thick tanned leather pro-
duced in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, is cut and sewn in Toyooka,
Hyogo Prefecture. By taking advantage of the characteristics
of local industries in Japan and combining the materials
tailored in each region, we designed a new chair made possi-
ble only in Japan.
The wide arms, which appear flat at first glance, have a slight
bulge to give them a gentle touch. The seat comprises two
layers of thick leather sewn together to form a single surface.
From cutting the leather to sewing, the whole process is done
at a bag factory in Toyooka that manufactures flight cases for
pilots. The bag manufacturing industry originated from willow
basketry that emerged about 1,200 years ago. It is now a
significant industry in the region, with more than 300 bag-re-
lated companies operating side by side. The seat, which uses
a single piece of leather from the backrest to the seating
surface, has been repeatedly modified to find a balance
between the aesthetics and comfortable seating experience.
Time & Style aimed to create a chair with an effortless air of
elegance that can be cherished for a long time.
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