Learn the histories and names of the seven best designer sofas to discover today. We are talking about the designers of iconic sofas such as Camaleonda, Togo, and more.
Michel Ducaroy, France
Michel Ducaroy was born in 1925, into a family of designers and furniture makers whose activities were split between private houses and larger-scale contracts. The French furniture innovator started as an independent designer in 1952 and has become one of the most iconic designers from the Roset company pushing technological boundaries and design creativity.
In 1968 Ducaroy designed one of the first modular all-foam chairs, the low-sitting Adria and the now iconic Togo sofa, one of Ligne Roset's best-sellers. The Togo sofa and composition fans include Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Wearstler, and Clara Cornet. It is also a social media icon and trend.
Tobia and Afra Scarpa, Italy
Afra and Tobia Scarpa are award-winning postmodern Italian designers and architects They have collaborated with internationally renowned companies such as B&B Italia and Knoll International. The Soriana sofa is among their iconic design and is the lover of all vintage shoppers and treasure hunters. Tobia and Afra created a radical new sofa in 1969 upon the furniture maestro Cesare Cassina's urgent call to be launched in time for the Cologne trade show in January 1970.
This iconic sofa is a hunk of expanding polyurethane wrapped in leather and cinched in the middle with a shiny metal belt. Production stopped in 1982, but Cassina re-introduced the design since designers and tastemakers like Kelly Wearstler and Rodman Primack began clamouring for vintage models.
Mario Bellini, Italy
Mario Bellini is an architect and designer. Internationally renowned, he designed one of the most iconic sofas from the 20th century, and now a timeless piece for mid-century modern spaces. The Bellini sofa or Camaleonda sofa stands out for the endlessly adaptable nature of its system. Designed for B&B Italia in 1970, the bulbous modules of fabric-covered polyurethane hook together using simple, integrated carabiners to create endless configurations, from sectionals and armchairs to ottomans and daybeds. This is a treasure for vintage shoppers. The Italian creator designed countless art, design and architecture exhibitions over the years, both in Italy and abroad over the last decades.
Mies van der Rohe, USA & Germany
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies and is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture. The cutting-edge designer is the creative mind behind the Barcelona couch, a sleek piece and upholstery icon that rapidly won cult status. Knoll has been the manufacturer of this piece since the 60’s and a new one might cost around $14,000. Knoll gave the name Barcelona in 1987.
Ubald Klug, Switzerland
Ubald Klug was born in St. Gallen in 1932. From 1952 to 1955, he trained as an interior designer with Willy Guhl at the Kunstgewerbeschule. Ubald Klug's curriculum includes work on exhibitions, trade fair stands, showrooms, shops and restaurants in France, Germany and Switzerland. He has designed products for the furniture, watch, textiles, glass and ceramics industries.
The Terrezza sofa is a popular design by Swiss designer Ubald Klug. Made in 1971, it was inspired by a terraced landscape. Produced by de Sede, the modular sofa pieces were each composed of seven graduated leather-wrapped cushions set on a rectangular base.
George Nelson, USA
George Nelson was an American industrial designer who led the Herman Miller furniture company and his design studio, George Nelson Associates. He designed 20th-century modernist furniture. As a founder of American modernist design, George Nelson owns one of the most delightful sofas of this article or a seating collection: the Marshmallow sofa. After a rough beginning, this piece is now a pop icon (Hallelujah for that), reissued by Vitra and Herman Miller (from $5,285) many years later it’s first examplar.
Ray Wilkes, England
Wilkes was born in Surrey, England, and received his design degree from the Royal College of Art in London. One of his most memorable furniture pieces is the Wilkes modular sofa group, which looks like chewing gum. Also known as the Chiclet sofa, this seating piece was designed in 1976 by Herman Miller’s in-house designer Ray Wilkes. Wilkes used a new machine that injected foam into moulds to create the rounded forms which could be upholstered in Herman Miller’s two-way-stretch fabric and used in a modular fashion to create an armchair or a three-seat sofa.
Conclusion
Before acquiring any designer furniture you must know how to spot fake pieces. Then, it’s time to find your dream sofa. From modular versions to a three-seater sofa, cosy or cutting-edge, classic or modernist, furniture designers created real design statements to uplift your living room.
Sources
Architectural Digest, 14 Iconic Sofas You Should Probably Know About
Elle Decoration, 36 of the best designer sofas to invest in now
Ligne Roset, Michel Ducaroy
