We are obsessed with beautifully refined chairs, particularly when they are so technically clever!

The Invisible chair forms part of ‘The Invisibles’ collection for Kartell and is a collaboration between the Italian furniture manufacturer and Tokujin Yoshioka. The project discussion began more than two years ago, when both were looking for a possibility to develop a new product line, made in acrylic, which inherited the essence of Tokujin’s previous optical glass bench Waterfall.

The Invisibles collection’s transparent thickness eradicates the presence of the objects.

The Wire Chair by Japanese designer Nendo is the follow-up to the Cord Chair For Wire Chair’, Nendo has stripped away the wooden skin and has increased the diameter of the steel rods from 9 mm to 12 mm, thus giving the chair structural support independent from the wood. The chair is power coated in multiple layers and hand polished to give it a lustrous finish, reminiscent of traditional Japanese lacquer ware. The new finish also results in more durability and water resistance, making the chair suitable for indoor and outdoor use.

The Cord Chair is a result of a collaboration between Nendo and Marun.
Made from hard maple and steel, the aim was to show off the flawlessness of the wood material, instead of exposing the chair’s underlying metal frame. To achieve this they decided to hollow out each piece of wood to clad the steel structure.
Nendo’s design is derived from their exploration of the relationship between materials like metal wiring within an electrical cord and the rubber that encases it. Each of the chair’s parts are carved from wood and left in its most natural state. The ‘lightness’ of the chair is expressed through its thin structure and the chair can only be constructed by hand.