B&B Italia Papilio Chair

Mon Feb 07, 2022Easy ChairsSteelNaoto FukasawaColorful

PAPILIO CHAIR

PAPILIO CHAIR

Design by Naoto Fukasawa

A chair and stool in two heights, Papilio can be used in formal contexts, while also allowing for a more informal use by leaning on one of the back’s “wings”, inspired by those of a butterfly (or “Papilio” in Latin).

Upholstered in either leather or fabric, Papilio’s cover can be removed using a metal zipper on the back, a functional and decorative detail that characterises the entire line of chairs of the same name.

The formal balance derives from the constant thickness of the shell and from the shape of the seat, which is sinuous in the upper part and then merges with the light steel frame.

DESIGNER

NAOTO FUKASAWA

Always devoted to achieving simplicity and beauty, Naoto Fukasawa designs products for numerous internationally prestigious brands, as well as collaborating as designer and consultant for many major Japanese companies.

His creativity embraces very different sectors, from precision electronic equipment to furniture and interior design.

In his career as designer he has received important awards and many of his works are part of the permanent collections of museums such as the MoMa in New York, the Victoria and Albert Musuem in London and the Designmuseum Danmark. In 2007, the UK Royal Society of Arts awarded him the title of Honorable Royal Designer for Industry.

In 2017, he became a member of the Loewe Craft Prize jury. He is a professor in the Integrated Design department at Tama Art University. In 2006, he established the “Super Normal” project with Jasper Morrison.

Since 2021 he is curator of The Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo. Fukasawa has co-authored with the photographer Tamotsu Fujii the volume The Outline -The Unseen Outline of Things, published by Hachette Fujingaho, and released the book Naoto Fukasawa published by Phaidon Press.

In Spring 2018, he released his second book with Phaidon Press Naoto Fukasawa: Embodiment.