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Soft on the outside, art on the inside: you have to see these chairs
16.7.2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Pia Seidel
Completely wrapped in fabric - these chairs look like small works of art and were a talking point at Milan Design Week and the "3 Days Of Design" in Copenhagen. No wood, no metal, no typical contours - just fabric that wraps around the shapes like a second skin and almost looks like a secret.
The major design events in Milan and Copenhagen are over, but their impressions set the trends for the coming months. This year, the focus is on designs that blur the boundaries: between furniture and art, function and fantasy. They invite you to take a closer look and look like sculptural objects - soft and full of mystery. The message? Design is becoming more emotional, more open and consciously breaking with conventions.
Disguise Series 00: Hovering between design and art
The «Disguise Series 00» from Esto is anything but ordinary. The furniture collection looks like a family of creatures that bring rooms to life with their very own language. «Each piece starts with a simple tubular steel structure and is then transformed into a creature by a hand-sewn, tapered textile cover», explains the creative studio from Madrid. With their organic patterns, the cotton covers are reminiscent of natural growth processes - almost as if the furniture were breathing.
The collection includes handmade chairs and benches and plays with the idea of panelling. The result? Objects that hover somewhere between a piece of furniture and a living being. Each piece is made to order. Price on request. Simply write a DM - and the magic starts.
The «Dinner 8PM» chair: craftsmanship meets art
The «Dinner 8PM» chair from Lrnce brings art directly to the dining table. With a base of hand-woven cotton and fine wool embroidery, each piece looks like it's fresh out of a studio. «Our designs are created spontaneously - through the combination of shapes, materials and colours», explains Laurence Leenaert, founder of the Moroccan studio.
The chair comes in the base colour «Pantone Tofu» (yes, that's the real name of the colour) and offers a perfect mix of comfort and statement piece with a 50 × 50 centimetre seat. Each one is unique - handmade and full of personality. If you want even more individuality, you can even request special sizes.
Cut-Out Armchair: minimalism with mid-century vibes
The «Cut-Out Armchair» is a fabric-covered chair designed in collaboration with Sarah Brunn. The upholstery comes from Haandvaerk Kbh, while the fabric is supplied by Kjellerup Vaeveri. Kjellerup Væveri is the last textile manufacturer in Denmark and has been producing upholstery fabrics that combine minimalism and mid-century vibes since the 1950s. «Our work is based on a deep knowledge of what materials, people and machines can achieve together», the company explains.
What makes the «Cut-Out Armchair» special? Under its textile cover, the material remains a secret. This is exactly what creates excitement - and guarantees that it will be an eye-catcher in any room.
Towards softer, more inviting designs - even for classics
Even iconic classics such as the «Barcelona Chair» by Mies van der Rohe show that the trend towards softer designs does not stop at the really big names. At Milan Design Week, the iconic furniture series received its first major overhaul in decades: In addition to leather, there are now covers made of twill, velvet or linen as well as an ultra-matt black frame - a nod to Mies' preference for lacquered steel.
«The collection has come to symbolise modernism», says Amy Auscherman of MillerKnoll to Cnn Style magazine. Introducing new materials was not easy, but research showed that Mies did not reject textiles at all. His own comment on this: «'The chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier.»
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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