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Bibendum Chair

Originally designed for a Parisian apartment in 1929, The Bibendum Chair was inspired by one of the world’s oldest trademarks–the famous Michelin Man–a rotund figure of inflated tires that has represented the French company since the late 1800s.

DESIGNER | Eileen Gray, 1929

Bibendum Chair

W 35″
D 33.5″
H 28.5″

Originally designed for a Parisian apartment in 1929, The Bibendum Chair was inspired by one of the world’s oldest trademarks–the famous Michelin Man–a rotund figure of inflated tires that has represented the French company since the late 1800s.

The semicircular rolls of the back and arms sit on the chair seat and are supported by a semicircular base of chrome tubing, blending evocative feminine forms and geometric shapes into an iconic chair recognized throughout the world. Designed with a feminine perspective, it manages to be voluptuous and spare at the time.

Eileen Gray

Eileen Gray, was born in 1878 in County Wexford, Ireland, and died in 1976 in Paris at the age of 98. She was one of the first women to attend the Slade design school in London. Her work was not well-known until late in her career, although she clearly belongs in the pantheon of Modern Movement designers such as Le Corbusier, Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mie Van der Rohe. The Bibendum Chair was not manufactured until the 1970s when Gray signed a contract with Aram Designs in London to reproduce her work for the first time.

Bibendum Chair  | c.1929

Manufacturer

Original: Aram Designs | UK
Current: ClassiCon | Germany

Build

Dimensions: 35″W x 33.5″D x 28.5″H
Material: chrome-plated tube, upholstered foam cushions