Virtual chair moves into the real world

A digital chair touted as "the chair that could not be made" has been brought to life and mass-produced

Spotted: While digital art and fashion have some utility, at least in the virtual world, it is a bit harder to think of practical use for a virtual chair. So, after 3D artist Andrés Reisinger’s digital chair went viral on Instagram, the designer partnered with Dutch brand Moooi to bring it into the real world. The result is the Hortensia armchair, which is now available for purchase.

While the Hortensia is an amazing piece of design, it is also important because of the way it came about. According to Moooi CEO Robin Bevers, the chair is the start of a new way of working for designers and brands. Bevers suggests that rather than waiting to be commissioned by brands, “in the future designers will take the initiative, developing designs online and building a market before development begins.” 

After Reisinger shared the Hortensia chair on social media in 2018, the image went viral and prompted several order requests, although the chair, with its unique texture, was considered by many to be impossible to replicate in real life. In response, Reisinger released a limited edition of the chair the following year, in collaboration with textile designer Júlia Esqué. The chair, with its unique texture, was considered by many to be impossible to replicate in real life.

The mass-produced version released by Moooi includes laser-cut fabric, formed into clusters of 30,000 ‘petals’. A pared-back version of the chair will also be available in any one of 371 different textiles. “The Hortensia was considered impossible to produce – and yet here we are,” says Bevers. “I love that designers are pushing us to new levels, to achieve things we never dreamt we were capable of.”

As design has begun moving online in unique ways, it offers new opportunities to disrupt the way that items such as furniture, clothing and even perfume are created. Some recent innovations in this space include using AR to bring a virtual sofa into real living rooms, and an NFT perfume that captures the molecular formula of real-life perfume.

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