I loved this chair when I first saw it – I love the asymmetry, the finish, the balance.  Then I read the title.  Turns out it was made by Vladimir Kagan and Ralph Pucci.  Insane.  Kagan is one of the most influential modernist designers, and Pucci created the modern mannequin (he came up with using non-creepy poses, among lots of innovative benchmarks).

Turns out Kagan always wanted to work with plastic but never did till this project.  The chairs were based on some of his sketches from the 50s.  Pucci saw the drawings, thought his workshop could produce the pieces, and figured the timing is good.  I love that they both stay so current.  The pieces don’t look retro, even though they do use some bean-shaped midcentury curves.

The chairs will be shown October 29th at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.

Compare that to Kagan’s wing chair:

A mannequin from Ralph Pucci’s first collaboration, which was with interior designer Andree Putnam:

Via Contemporist

Tags: product design, Ralph Pucci, Vladimir Kagan