On entering the showroom a sculpture of the iconic 699 Superleggera chairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina welcomes the visitor and offers a preview of the striking oversized photos of furniture from the Cassina collections displayed on each floor.
The abstract views of the Cassina furniture, placed under the sharp eye of Karl Lagerfeld, offer a fresh interpretation of the pieces, inviting the visitor to contemplate their meaning and discover new sensations. Without betraying the designs’ identity, Lagerfeld extracts a sort of humanity from their form and creates emotion, even irony in the case of the Ying and Yang composition of the Tre Pezzi Wool armchairs by Franco Albini. The intertwined Auckland armchairs by Jean-Marie Massaud are captured in a poetic embrace, which is unusual and yet heart-warming, while his Aspen sofas appear like rolling hills which aesthetically meet in symmetric harmony. Presiding the showroom is one large print of the wooden LC14 Tabouret by Le Corbusier: an important declaration of Cassina’s history in carpentry workmanship, they stand out like a Manhattan skyline, imposing but reassuring.
Karl Lagerfeld: an influential esthete of contemporary design.
This is the first time that Karl Lagerfeld has chosen to carry out a photographic project for a furniture brand. A connoisseur of contemporary design and modern architecture the union with Cassina was a natural evolution of his passion for beautiful and timeless furniture. “I am a fan of the Cassina ‘productions’ and for years I own many of the photographed pieces, often more than one. My first ‘order’ was the famous chaise-longue by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand in the 60’s…” Karl Lagerfeld
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