PaperCity Magazine

June 2019- Houston

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T he crowd went wild in 1969 when furniture designer Gaetano Pesce introduced his voluptuous Up5 chair at the Milan Furniture Fair. Hundreds of flat, deflated Up5 chair models were strewn over the vast display area, suddenly inflating and taking shape as if by magic. Pesce's chair, with its big bosom and large behind, was far more than a presentation; it was a performance. Accompanied by the tethered Up6 ottoman resembling a ball and chain — meant to evoke the suffering of women — it was also a feminist statement. A ban on Freon forced the chair into retirement in 1973, until B&B Italia reissued the chair in 2000, replacing Freon with shaped polyurethane foam. To celebrate the chair's 50th anniversary, B&B has introduced new solid colors in orange red, navy blue, petrol and emerald green, and cardamom (from $5,500). A 50th Anniversary Special Edition striped version in beige and petrol green references the chair's original 1969 color palette (from $7,060). Up5_6 armchair and ottoman, at BeDesign, 2016 W. Alabama St., be-design.us. ALL GROWN UP BY REBECCA SHERMAN Salvador Dalí in Gaetano Pesce's 1969 Up5 chair from B&B Italia. Below, the 50th Anniversary Special Edition chair and ottoman. OBSESSION

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