Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Designers create places to curl up with a book

Furniture exhibition aims to show connection with world of literature

Genevieve Roberts
Sunday 19 April 2009 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

What would you make for the writer who has most influenced your life? The question has been asked of 50 of the world's best-known designers, from the couturiers Christian Lacroix and Paul Smith to the architect India Mahdavi.

Their imaginary creations for authors including Haruki Murakami and Ian Fleming will be shown in a series of exhibitions across Paris until September, and have been collated in Design et Littérature: Une Liaison Inspiré to be published this week.

The architect and designer Claudio Colucci conceived a lounge sofa made from carbon fibre for the James Bond writer Ian Fleming. "I have always liked the fantasy element in design," he said. "Too much function bores me. I thought of creating an amphibious car, but that already exists, so I designed a lounge-sofa for drinking champagne, for two, of course."

The fashion designer Christian Lacroix imagined a mid-20th Century wrought-iron chair for the French novelist, Patrick Modiano. Lacroix said: "I like his form of melancholy; like him, I'm nostalgic."

British designer Paul Smith has sketched a 19th-century-inspired chair, customised with old material, for lyric writer Patti Smith, his "favourite rock literary icon" and modern "capturer of emotions".

The architect India Mahdavi designed a cat-shaped sofa in homage to Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Mahdavi, who chose a cat because the animal appears throughout Murakami's work, said that when she was introduced to the novelist, "it was like entering someone's dream, in a universe where fantasy and reality are mixed".

The writer Esther Henwood said she thought of the idea for the series of exhibitions and the book because of her interest in the relationship between the arts. "The different art forms – music, design, literature, fashion – are seen as being separate," she said. "Yet they are interrelated ...

"All the designers told me how much they love and are influenced by literature in all their work, even if it is not apparent." She said she was so "delighted" by the responses that she told design houses limited editions of the works should be created.

"We are holding a series of exhibitions across Paris," she said. "Some of the works have been imagined for great literary figures, such as Proust, Tolstoy and Flaubert. Others were conceived for contemporary writers who will have the chance to see the designs that have been imagined."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in