Pallucco & Kawakubo

At the helm of the famous Japanese house Comme des Garçons, Rei Kawakubo brought a raw and resolutely avant-garde style to 1980s design.
Just like her “anti-fashion” collections, the furniture she designed to furnish the brand’s boutiques between 1983 and 1993 also expressed a clear rebellion against established codes.

Due to an obvious stylistic affinity, Paolo Pallucco began to publish her work. This collaboration was made possible, on one hand, because of Paolo Pallucco’s many trips to Japan, but above all through Toshi Murata, Pallucco’s friend, who introduced the Italian—then a simple editor—to the high priestess of Japanese fashion.

Everything aligned for a perfect collaboration: Pallucco was already producing high-quality furniture, his aesthetic was radical, and he was deeply inspired by Tojhi Murata’s artistic formula applied to the Comme des Garçons design vision: “Duro, Semplice e Chiaro” (Hard, Simple and Clear).

Several pieces were created as part of this collaboration:

• Chairs n.1 (1983) and n.2 (1983), made of bent steel tubing and mesh seating. The first is galvanized steel, the second lacquered black steel.
• A set of three nesting tables (n.3, n.4 , n.5 (1983)) featuring a black and grey granite top and a black lacquered bent steel base.
• Chairs n.9 (1987) and n.10 (1987), composed of a steel frame and Japanese oak seat. The first is black lacquered steel, the second is galvanized steel.

All these pieces can be unified by their steel structure. As signature of the company Pallucco S.R.L., the use of bent steel rods is found in Paolo Pallucco’s most iconic creation: the Barba d’Argento armchair, designed in 1986.
With its striking look, the Barba d’Argento enhances the structure of the seat with a motorcycle chain, adjustable in height and depth via a rotating pull-handle. Kawakubo sure loves it.