Mario Bellini for B&B Italia

MARIO BELLINI (Milan, 1935) for B&B Italia.
"Le Bambole", two-seater sofa.
Original black leather upholstery.
Produced by B&B Italian, with stamp.
Measurements: 72 x 165 x 82 cm; 38 cm (seat height).

The Bambole armchair, with large, soft cushions, is an icon of Italian design of the 1970s, winner of the Compasso d'Oro in 1979. It was a revolutionary model, reflected as a series of large upholstered cushions placed together almost randomly, in response to the transformations of life underway in the early part of that decade. The innovation of the design led photographer Oliviero Toscani to photograph Donna Jordan (a model he met at Warhol's Factory) lying bare-breasted on it. These images were first censored, but later went around the world in magazines and design manuals.

Trained as an architect at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Mario Bellini founded his studio in 1987, winning with his brand the Gold Medal of the Chartered Society of Designers in the United Kingdom. He has also received the Compasso d'Oro 8 times and 25 of his works are in the permanent design exhibition at MoMA in New York. His profession goes beyond architecture and urban planning, as his passion for decoration has led him to become a furniture designer collaborating with internationally recognized brands such as Cassina, Kartell, Rosenthal, Venini, Vitra, Driade or Natuzzi. The impact and influence of Bellini, has led him to be present in major projects such as The Museum of Islamic Arts at Louvre Museum in 2012, or in the extension of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne in 2003.