The worlds of furniture design and fashion have been finding a common language of late. Indeed, from immaculate attention to detail to an appreciation for materiality and colour, fashion and furniture designers share many of the sensibilities needed to create refined, beautifully executed pieces.
A recent noteworthy collaboration is between Jil Sander, the famed German fashion designer, and Thonet, for whom Sander has reimagine several of Marcel Breuer’s famous tubular steel designs from the late 1920s.
For the JS. Thonet collection, the designer has refined the S64 cantilever chair, crafting two lines – the Serious and the Nordic – as well as a stackable side table, the classic tubular steel B97. For the Serious line, Sander worked closely with the Thonet design team to elevate Breuer’s easily recognisable design with a glossy frame and leather upholstery in four different shades. There is also a dark melange version with dark-coloured canework in the seats and backrests. The chair’s wooden frames and armrests have been given a matching high-gloss lacquer finish.
The Nordic line, in contrast, features frames with a warm, matt nickel silver finish combined with white pigmented oak, and seat and backrest upholstery with white or natural-coloured leather. The Nordic edition also includes a version with a light-coloured canework seat and backrest. “I wasn’t interested in completely redesigning these classics,” says Sander, for whom this is a first foray into furniture design. “It was more about taking them to the next level.
Thonet has been making furniture for the residential and contract sectors since 1819. With a passion for bentwood and tubular steel, the German company produces Bauhaus classics by Mart Stam, Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe, as well as pieces by leading modern designers.
The brand saw a good match in Sander. “Her designs have always represented laid-back, elegant luxury and her clothes are worn with pleasure year after year – just as Thonet furniture often accompanies people throughout their lives,” explains Norbert Ruf, creative director at Thonet. For Sander, it was about celebrating Breuer’s vision and ingenuity. “My goal was to take the S64 as Breuer meant it to be and bring it into the here and now,” she says. “The chair’s design and fundamental structure have stood the test of time and deserve contemporary recognition.”
Photography by Hartmut Nägele, photo credit: Thonet GmbH
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