Milan: Stefan Diez for E15

Last year we were very excited about Stefan Diez’s CH04 Houdini chair for German manufacturer E15. It was made by hand-stretching plywood around a wooden ring to form the back and seat. The light material and seemingly simple construction made it appear origami-like, yet it was a surprisingly sturdy piece of furniture. This year E15 tried to build on that success by expanding the collection to include a stool, two types of sofas, two types of lounge chairs and a pouf.

The ST10 Jean stool is the most true to the original chair, mimicking its seat, but recreating it on a smaller scale. The other pieces are transformed radically with the addition of carefully selected upholstery. The EC03 Eugene lounge chair has a high back that gently hugs the sitter and its seat is covered with a modest cushion. The EC02 Bessy lounge chair in contrast has a shorter back and a tub-like seat covered with plump upholstery, a sharp contrast to the minimalism of the elegant back. The SF05 Bess sofa has the same contrasting quality and seems to lose some of the asceticism that was so charming with the Houdini.

Although it makes sense to expand on a range where so much research and experimentation has gone into creating the original product, it was still telling of a year of launches that seemed to honour safety over daring.

The CH04 Houdini chair for E15 from 2009 (image: Ingmar Kurth, Martin Url)

ST10 Jean stool (image: Ingmar Kurth, Martin Url)

EC03 Eugene lounge chair (image: Ingmar Kurth, Martin Url)

EC02 Bessy Lounge chair (image: Ingmar Kurth, Martin Url)

SF05 Bess Sofa (image: Ingmar Kurth, Martin Url)

 Words

Johanna Agerman