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17 artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair

CREATIVES BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO DIOR’S ICONIC MEDALLION CHAIR

 

on the occasion of milan design week 2021, dior maison has invited seventeen artists to reinterpret one of its iconic emblems — the medallion chair. the chair, which is a symbol of louis XVI style, was first embraced by dior himself in 1947 who used it to seat guests at his fashion shows. in his memories, he described it as ‘sober, simple, and above all classic and parisian.’

 

today, sam baron, nacho carbonell, pierre charpin, dimorestudio, khaled el mays, martino gamper, constance guisset, india mahdavi, nendo, joy de rohan chabot, linde freya tangelder, atang tshikare, seungjin yang, ma yansong, jinyeong yeon, tokujin yoshioka and pierre yovanovitch offer their visions and artistic and cultural sensibilities and reimagine this object of desire with boundless creativity.

17 artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
dimorestudio
image courtesy of dior

 

PART OF DIOR’S WORLD SINCE 1946

 

when fashion house dior set up its first boutique on 30 avenue montaigne in paris, 1946, it was characterized by simple and modern interiors but with classical features.

 

founder christian dior believed essential french aesthetics resided in the palace of versailles, and adored especially the oval-backed medallion chair said to have been used by louis the 16th, featuring it frequently in boutiques and fashion shows. the chair became an icon of the maison, later appearing as a visual element for perfume bottles and advertisements.

seventeen artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
india mahdavi
image © designboom

 

AN UNPRECEDENTED COLLABORATION THAT REFLECTS DIOR’S TIMELESSNESS 

 

for the milan presentation, dior asked the creatives to showcase new works inspired by the medallion chair. the brief asked for a reinterpretation of the classical chair using state-of-the-art technology, following the principles monsieur dior described in his memoir. the unprecedented collaboration aims to showcase a reflection of the house’s timeless modernity that is able to reinvent the dior dream and perpetuate it in time.

17 artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
exhibition view
image courtesy of dior

 

designboom visited the exhibition at milan’s palazzo citterio. 

seventeen artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
tokujin yoshioka
image © designboom

 

on his design, japanese designer tokujin yoshioka told designboom,what came to my mind was to make a chair out of layers of light. from there, I thought about creating a historic yet futuristic chair using transparent resin, which is the material closest to light. the beauty of nature is expressed by randomly stacking 364 transparent resin plates to form a chair.’

 

seventeen artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
dimorestudio

seventeen artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
ma yansong / MAD architects

 

dior-medallion-chair-milan-design-week-2021-designboom-005

image by © alessandro garofalo

17 artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
pierre charpin

17 artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
the exhibiton took place in milan’s palazzo citterio

17 artists & designers reimagine the iconic dior medallion chair
sam baron

 

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atang tshikare
atang tshikare
constance guisset
constance guisset
dimorestudio
dimorestudio
india mahdavi
india mahdavi
joy de rohan chabot
joy de rohan chabot
linde freya tangelder - destroyers / builders
linde freya tangelder - destroyers / builders
ma yangsong
ma yangsong
nacho carbonell
nacho carbonell
nendo
nendo
pierre cardin
pierre cardin
pierre yovanovitch
pierre yovanovitch
sam baron
sam baron
seungjin yang
seungjin yang
tokujin yoshioka
tokujin yoshioka

project info:

 

name: dior medallion chair exhibition

location: palazzo citterio, milan

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CHAIR DESIGN (582)

CONSTANCE GUISSET (20)

DIMORESTUDIO (16)

DIOR (27)

INDIA MAHDAVI (13)

JINYEONG YEON (6)

MARTINO GAMPER (16)

MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2021 (50)

NACHO CARBONELL (17)

NENDO (268)

PIERRE CHARPIN (6)

SAM BARON (16)

TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA (102)

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