aeo.

the anti-modern modern chair: the aeo armchair by paolo deganello looks ultra-modern from todays point of view – but actually conveys an almost revolutionary counter-message. in the late sixties/early seventies young italian designers challenged established values and conventions and criticised the “consumer society”. design group ‘archizoom’, founded in 1966 and part of the radical design movement, delivered humorous and provocative objects, light and easy and often inspired by pop art – as a counter-design to the ossified modernism with its massive, functionalist and pretentious furniture.

 one of co-founder paolo deganello’s last works with archizoom was the ‘aeo’ armchair, conceived in 1973 as “an unconventional interpretation of the modern designer armchair, characterised by its daring shapes and experimental use of materials” (producer cassina). deganello himself wrote: „aeo is functional for those who consider luxury arrogant, a form of opulent obesity, and love arte povera, hate waste, dream of a widespread and collective creativity, want to personalize and co-design the form and meaning of the product.“

„it was initially (1973) shipped disassembled, anticipating the following ikea concept. the user assembled it himself saving the cost of assembly and could buy different components to create different versions, with or without arms, modular in-line or in a semi-circle, to make sofas with two or three seats, with or without a surface to hold objects, and the covers for the cushions and back were easy to slip off and on. we anticipated a large collection of differently decorated coverings, which together with its modularity allowed for easily customizing the product.” (from paolo deganello’s website)

although ‘customisation’ is now an overarching megatrend in many areas (from fashion to automotive design), individualisation is still under pressure: too many possible variants reduce profits of mass production. the aeo was a statement against the establishment, against the self-promoters and the bean counters – and still is.

two deganello chairs, one with armrests, one without
seating fabric replaced, new cushion covers

material: polyester base, metal frame, removable cotton canvas fabric

chair with armrests: h: 106 cm, w: 80 cm, d: 71 cm, sh: 44 cm

chair without armrests: h: 106 cm, w: 79 cm, d: 63 cm, sh: 44 cm