They already had the Masculo Chair for Gubi under their belt in 2008. In 2013, the progressivist Italo-Danish design duo GamFratesi, composed by Enrico Fratesi and Stine Gam, brought out the Beetle Chair, a design piece with solemn comfort and a meticulous aesthetic. The Beetle is not an “infinite banal chair”, since it’s inspired by the anatomy of insects and the scarab, hence the name Beetle. By reinterpreting the physiological characteristics of insects, the designers recomposed the conception of a scarab in order to put it on a chair with a stupefying design. Nothing is missing: the shell shape, external rigidity and mobility, and a fascinating softness on the interior. It’s with a respect for comfort and functionality that GamFratesi was able to create a piece with perfect biomimetics.Take inspiration from a shape that already exists in nature: this was the process used by designer George Nelson for the Coconut Chair, considered an icon of “Mid-Century Modern”
By combining the strength of Danish classics with subtle Italian refinement, they’re always able to add beautiful and surprising new elements. Available in a large selection of fabrics and leathers, the Beetle reinterprets the seat and the back by being produced with a piece of plastic that’s ergonomically molded to ensure for excellent comfort and support. A shell sits on its brass base: “Our work is to balance traditional and surprising. It’s often a small detail that reaches or breaks an expression, and we’re very sensitive to this,” points out GamFratesi.
Subtle and pure, it’s no surprise to see that the Beetle chair by GamFratesi is today an icon in current design. All of the elements that compose it are perfectly tied together and worked in a precise and fascinating way. This contemporary icon is chic and comfortable, and proves once more that contrasts are often the key to successful inspiration. By combining a simple and functional artisanal methodology that’s purely Scandinavian along with Italian tradition and flamboyance, Enrico Fratesi and Stine Gram have yielded a new design equation born from digging into the legacies of the great masters.
Discover an other iconic chair: the All Plastic Chair by Jasper Morrison
Leave a Reply