As the saying goes, the fashion world revolves in circles and this can easily be detected in the UK where the fashion patterns of the 80’s have resurfaced. We can deduce this in the reappearance of the hyper colored t-shirts and loose-fitting jackets which were all too common in the nineties. These have nevertheless made an impressive fashion statement.
While retro-fashions have been clearly applicable to clothes, nowhere else is this true than in the realm of furniture and interior design. Predictably, furniture designs from the 50s and 60s era have resurfaced. This can easily be seen with a casual trip to a furniture store, hotel lobbies or interior design magazines.
Back in the 60s, furniture was more or less inspired by minimalistic designs. Things have since changed as we see with carpets which have now been replaced by floors that had bare boards. The conventional chairs that were very popular have given way to sculpted modern plastics. Likewise, sharper-angled chairs now have taken the place of soft edges. Some of these trends however, have been diminishing and we have seen a resurgence of vintage furniture. One great iconic furniture style that has resurfaced is the Egg chair.
Strictly-speaking, the egg chair is a relic of the past decades. It is a brain-child of world-renowned Danish interior designer, Arne Jacobson. In 1958, after the completion of the 5-star SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, he was tasked with ensuring that the furniture that was placed in this hotel made a statement. Arne was known to be someone who took exceptional pride in his work and would not disappoint. With meticulous skill precision fitting, he produced what we have now come to call the egg chair. This chair has since gone on to become world-acclaimed, and now sits in many homes, hotels and other places where comfort is considered important. The design of the chair has also inspired many other designers as we continue to see. One is the drop chair which continues to be famous. Egg chair can be said to have made a great impact to the overall furniture industry.
Let’s discuss a little about Arne Jacobsen. He was born in Copenhagen in 1902 and since then went on to become its undisputed interior and furniture design king. His portfolio included innovative and world-famous architecture and furniture design in 1950s which has since been emulated all over the world. Initially, Arne worked in the housing and school projects in Denmark and here he developed the skill and passion for design which was later to become the bedrock of his work. In 1951, produced what was then called the Ante chair. This chair was made famous in the famous photograph which featured renowned celebrity Christine Keeler standing astride it. That chair later became the inspiration behind the egg chair.
The egg chair is considered one of today’s most innovative designs just as it was in the 60s. While other countries also produce variations of the chair, Denmark still remains its biggest exporter. The interior design company Fritz Hansen has become famous by being the largest single exporter of the chair. The company has earned a steady flow of customers since the design of the egg chair has remained largely unchanged since the 60s. Today’s egg chair resembles, almost exactly, its 1950’s model.
Other furniture designers have also been inspired by the egg chair. There is the ball Chair, the Bubble Chair and the Pastil Chair all of which closely mimic the egg chair in appearance. We can acknowledge their designers as being very talented in their right, but they nevertheless drew their creativity from Arne Jacobson’s work.
Today, the egg chair continues to sell well and make waves in the furniture industry. It now sits in many homes, bars and nightclubs throughout the world giving Arne Jacobson a place in the furniture hall of fame. Other chairs like the figure hugging tub chairs have clearly been modeled from the egg chair and have become a synonymous with hotel lobbies around the globe.