Pierre Paulin’s designs are a favourite amongst the likes of Kylie Jenner, Frank Ocean, and Nicholas Ghesquière. We delve into the history of Paulin's Élysée chair, otherwise known as the Pumpkin or Alpha chair
French furniture and interior designer Pierre Paulin did not have an illustrious start to his career. After he failed his Baccalauréat (the French national exam that students sit for after the end of their secondary education), he trained briefly as a ceramist in Vallauris and then proceeded to be a stone-carver in Burgundy. Whilst training as a sculptor, he eventually got into a bloody fight that injured his right arm and ended his dreams as a sculptor there and then.
But Paulin was not to be undermined. He eventually started designing furniture, and launched his debut exhibition at the Paris furniture and home design festival Salon des arts ménagers in 1953. Around five years later, he started working at Maastricht-based Dutch manufacturers Artifort, where he quickly gained recognition for his modern designs.
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Paulin eventually caught the eye of then-French president Georges Pompidou and his wife. The young French talent was then invited by the royal couple to redecorate their private living quarters in the Élysée Palace apartment, the royal residence of France. Paulin delivered: he transformed the glitzy rooms into a contemporary abode and introduced newly designed sculptural sofas and chairs into the space.
Originally known as the Élysée collection, the playful seats were moulded from strips of wood wrapped in foam and upholstered in leather. Easy on the eye with its round contours and expressive personality, it beckons one to sink into it and linger.
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