Rarify

Ettore Sottsass’s Ultrafragola Mirror is one of the most important objects in the history of design, but its history is often overlooked or unknown because of a proliferation of dupes.

Designed in 1970 by Ettore Sottsass, a founding member of the Memphis Group, the Ultrafragola mirror is a (or perhaps *the*) seminal work of the Italian Radical Design movement.

This movement emerged as a reaction against rationalism and modernism, consciously moving away from the doctrine that function must be the primary driver of design.

In this piece, the functional mirror element is nearly incidental to the expressive, anthropomorphic frame.

Authentic examples have been produced by since the design’s inception, utilizing thermoformed plastic and integrated lighting—a rare technical feat for its time.

Though frequently replicated, the original remains a testament to Sottsass’s influence on the postmodern movement.

This bizarre pillow sofa is a collaboration between a fashion brand and an avant-garde design studio. Kassl is the brand that created the iconic pillow bag, which is a sort of puffy tote made from a lacquered cotton material.

The sofa has some unusual elements to it, appearing almost as two stacked pillows. It also features a sort of bag handle that definitely comes from fashion. In fact, here we see a key identifying detail that’s also present in the iconic Kassl bag.

Muller Van Severen, alongside Kassl, worked with the manufacturer BD Barcelona to create this chair. BD Barcelona has become known in particular for their avant-garde approach to selecting designs for manufacture.

This piece is an almost literal translation of the Kassl bags scaled and stacked into a sofa.