Minimalist architect Mies van der Rohe went so far as to say, “A chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier.” We can’t be so sure about that, but it does draw attention to how designing seating has always called for extraordinary rigour, whether painstakingly methodical or purposely frivolous, balancing material and form with ingenuity. Chairs and seats are objects of fascination. It’s a fact that a chair has to take a more complex form, unlike a bed which is simply flat. Designers have shaped their oeuvre with the chair as entree, often proving their mettle with an outstanding seating design. Here are our picks of 2024, of chairs and their makers that will push you to the edge.

Dressing up at Missoni

At Milan Design Week, Italian brand Missoni Home’s artistic director Alberto Caliri had a brainwave to showcase their new 2024 collection in actor-influencer Paolo Stella’s residence, SuonareStella. One setting had a group of playful, informal poufs with cylindrical bases and domed tops. These poufs mushrooming up, strangely counter the idea of sitting while inviting you to do so. Like all things at Missoni, the core is fabric with a confessed touch of madness. The designs are named after the fabric patterns, such as Ziggy Pouf after the hypnotic zigzag in viscose-blend canvas and Pouf Nastri for its bold geometric print.

https://www.missoni.com/en-in/home-collection/living/pouffes/ 

Taming the wild

Kenyan-born Ethiopian designer Jomo Tariku, based in Virginia, USA, has garnered an outstanding reputation for his interpretation of African symbols and culture as futuristic designs. We fell in love with his Meedo Chair, inspired by an Afro comb — an everyday companion object imagined as oversized. His walnut veneer Meedo acquired by the Met, NY in 2021 has also versions in bronze, ebonised and painted ash. For Tariku, who has had a long journey to recognition, it’s been important to give Black culture a visible platform and change its perception in the world. Inspired by the African Birthing Chair, constructed simply of two interlocking wooden planks, his Maasai Shield Chair is a swish combination of a moulded acrylic seat and a Maasai shield-shaped back of Baltic birch.

Price on inquiry at https://www.wexlergallery.com/artists-and-designers/jomo-tariku

The whole 9 yards

When Palak Shah of Delhi’s 130-year-old textile atelier, Ekaya Banaras got together with Indian-American Suchi Reddy, founder of Reddymade in NYC, the nine-and-half yard sari got a whole new twist. Shah and Reddy, both global-facing women entrepreneurs, combine their dynamic outlook and passion for Indian heritage in the 9.5 collection, which launched at Ateliers Courbet, NY in October 2024. Sculptural shapes (eucalyptus veneer on CNC plywood forms) are modelled after the sari’s flowing drape, from wave-form benches to a ripple-like chaise lounge that mimics the shape of the body. The gorgeous weaves designed by Reddy are based on the zero and overlay an infinity motif over a herringbone pattern. Made by Ekaya, these are rendered in glorious hues — from aquamarine blue and salmon pink to lilac, fuchsia and wine.

Price on request at https://ateliercourbet.com/exhibitions/ekaya-suchi-reddy

Sit relax man woman

The Mahalo Lounge is one of those quixotic chairs that defies definition. With its soft, flowing lines and humanistic persona, it has the earthiness of an Inuit sculpture and the sensuality of a Jean Arp. Designed for Ralph Pucci International by Honolulu artist John Koga, the three-legged lounge chair in Plaster Glass, originally hand-sculpted, is now manufactured by mould-forming and hand-finishing. It won Interior Design Best of the Year 2024 for the gallery. At Studio Manoa, Koga’s workshop and studio, his organic expressions are odes to stones, sky and the ocean, recalling how waves gently shape natural forms. Retail price: $12,000

https://ralphpucci.com/artists-designers/view/john-koga/

The biology of a chair

At the London Design Festival, Objets Mito by Abid Javed, delved into mitochondrial biology, with the intent to explore relationships between form, materiality and function. A chair and a sculptural object, visualised as a pair in clay, create a surrealistic landscape removing the regular notions of ‘chair’. On his Insta page, this London-based ceramic designer, talks about giving pause. Perhaps this is a piece that lets us stop and reflect on the chair’s organic origins and how it’s closely connected to the body.

Inquiries at https://www.abidjaved.com/

Stack and sit

Launched at Design Miami 2023 in collaboration with Mindy Solomon Gallery, Stackabl’s Baer Collection won the 2024 Good Design Award. The multidisciplinary design practice started by Jeff Forrest based in Toronto is on a heady mission to reuse textile waste, away from landfills, in their words, “striving to divert 500 tons into configurable furniture and lighting by 2029”. The Baer Collection, honouring the late activist Barbara Baer Captain, in eye-catching geometry combines upcycled Merino wool, post-consumer aluminium and recycled PET for a truly sustainable design.

Inquiries at https://www.instagram.com/stack_abl/?hl=en

Ahead of the curve

This February at India Design ID 2025 in New Delhi, watch out for these parametric designs by two Indian studios literally shaping the future chairs.

Structure meets function seamlessly in fluid forms of the Loop series launched in 2017 by Ahmedabad-based andblack design studio. This marked the venture into furniture design for founders Jwalant and Kanika Mahadevwala whose work combines their strengths in generative design and sustainable architecture. The curvilinear Loop lounger designed by Jwalant, showing at ID 2025, uses birch plywood and a mix of digital and handcrafted processes to render an exemplary piece.

Loop lounger with stool in moulded birch plywood by andblack: ₹1,80,000 + GST

Loop masque chandelier in moulded birch plywood by andblack: ₹2,25,000 + GST

https://www.andblackstudio.com/

Sculpting with fabric

You cannot decide where this chair ends and sitting begins in Lehar, an exquisitely handcrafted design by Kolkata studio Hands & Minds. Designer Abin Chaudhari combines traditional artistry with contemporary idioms while transporting us to narratives across time and space. Inspired by the idea of a flying carpet, this lounger unfolds in a dreamy patchwork quilt effect, bringing a whole new interactive experience to sitting. Price: ₹4,76,300 before taxes. Inquiries at 91 90737 51697.

https://www.instagram.com/handsminds/?hl=en

The writer is a brand strategist with a background in design from SAIC and NID.