The Revisionist Redux
Given his place in history as a revisionist, Proust would likely have heartily applauded Alessandro Mendini's creative reinterpretation of a classic Louis XV-style armchair, the final flourish of which was to stamp it with the French novelist's name. The Proust armchair has a hand-carved and hand-painted wooden frame, and is upholstered with a multicolored fabric that seamlessly matches the carved structure, which is no small feat, I might add. There are several different versions in the Cappellini line, this PR/1 a bit more geometric than other versions I've seen. The most whimsical incarnation of the armchair I've spied to date was on view during the debut of the new Cappellini flagship showroom in Miami last month. Believe it or not, its colliding shapes of fantastical colors makes it the wicked stepsister to this blatantly braggadocio version (see the bright beauty, whose name is Geometrica, in the slideshow on my Examiner page). Miami is holding its collective breath to see what the visionary behind the Cappellini brand, Giulio, will do during his Design Miami/ debut. Stay tuned, chair connoisseurs: we'll make sure you have a front row seat!
