Tribute to Chair No. 14. Ton’s stand at Salone del Mobile honoured the legendary ʻFourteenʼ and presented a new visual style
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Published
29 Apr, 2024 -
Text by
Iva Šimoníková -
Photography by
Lukáš Pelech -
465 words
3 minutes
Chair No.14, which has now been featured in Ton’s logo for twenty years, was the unifying element behind Ton’s presentation at the Salone del Mobile event. The stand in prestigious Hall 09 D0204 featured Chair No. 14, dressed for the future by Swedish designers Claesson Koivisto Rune, as well as its artistic variant in the ʻOde to the Fourteenʼ, an artefact by Czech designer Jiří Krejčiřík.
“Ode to the Fourteen is a tribute to the iconic Model No. 14, which for me embodies the very identity of Ton,” says Jiří Krejčiřík, who has turned the model into an art object using distinctive circular bends completed in the back-rest area.
Claesson Koivisto Rune, on the other hand, opted for Nordic minimalism, creating a novelty simply called 314, which was unveiled at Salone del Mobile on 17 April, at 3:14 PM.
“Chair No. 14 may be timeless, but it definitely carries a certain 19th
century romanticism aspect with it. We have tried to remove that and create a
design that would be more contemporary,” Mårten Claesson explained. It is
fascinating to see a chair model that was created more than 160 years ago still
appeal to the current generation of artists. The visitor’s attention was
primarily drawn to the unlikely combination of classic wood bends and the
unconventional polo fabric material, which is used in the manufacture of
sneakers. The blending of the past and the future has taken a clear form: Chair
No. 314.
In addition, the entire stand was dressed in the new brand colours, which made
it look very pleasant and cosy. “I was inspired by the factory in Bystřice
pod Hostýnem, where wood has been continuously bent for over 160 years,”
said the author of the colour concept, Slovak designer Zuzana Piliarová, who
also designed the stand for Ton. For sustainability reasons, the stand uses last
year’s concept, which however has been considerably revived by the new colour
scheme, while the content of the stand focused on the brand itself.
Visitors had the opportunity to learn about the history of the business, which dates back to the 19th century, on a History wall, while another part of the presentation concerned the brandʼs most famous products on the Hero wall. Hundreds of visitors poured into the stand every day, including some designers who have collaborated with the company in the past: Arik Levy, Alexander Gufler, the Büro Famos duo and Kaschkasch.
