Designed by Eero Saarinen in 1948 at the request of Florence Knoll, the Womb Chair revolutionized the very concept of an armchair with techniques and technologies that were innovative for those years, giving it not only a unique form, but a functionality that eluded any cataloging.
Said Florence Knoll at the time, “I made this particular request because I was fed up with armchairs that only allowed people to sit in one position. I thought it was time to break the mold. And that’s exactly what happened. I wanted an armchair that resembled a basket full of pillows, a soft shelter to curl up in.”
At the time of the launch, Saarinen stated, “Never before have we needed to relax.” Words that never cease to be relevant, just like his creation.
The principle behind the Womb Chair-responding to the primal need for absolute comfort-has proven universal, transcending time and generations. In a 1949 letter to J. Irwin Miller, Saarinen explained that this chair “is based on the assumption that so many people never really feel safe and comfortable in the world after leaving the womb.”
After offering it over time in two different variants (Classic and Relax), Knoll now presents a new interpretation that, thanks to an advanced upholstery process, manages to combine the best of the previous two and ensure maximum comfort. Available with a polished chrome or black painted base, the new Relax version of the iconic Womb Chair can be declined in a variety of ways to create interiors that embody a classic or contemporary lifestyle.
In addition to the chair’s wide assortment of fabrics, Knoll is introducing a new upholstery for the European market, Puff, available in eight colors and designed by Nick Cave, a revolutionary American sculptor, performance artist and dancer.
The source of inspiration is the well-known rainbow-colored faux fur wearable sculpture series Soundsuits – a project in which Cave succeeded in giving textile fibers three-dimensionality by juxtaposing and rearranging everyday objects such as beads, doilies, sequins and faux fur into material and sociopolitical representations.
Born in 1959 in Missouri, Nick Cave is active in the visual and performing arts and expresses himself through a variety of media, from sculpture to installations, from audiovisual to performance.
