Pair of fabric sofas, from the Le Bambole series, designed by Mario Bellini in 1972, Italian production, bearing the B&B brand.
The 1970s marked a period of significant cultural and aesthetic ferment, propelling designers and architects onto uncharted and innovative paths. Across cinema, fashion, and aesthetics in general, there was a playful desire to seduce and astonish. Objects produced during this era sought to respond to these desires, which were diverse, sometimes contradictory, and occasionally superficial, yet all united by a sincere yearning for freedom of expression. Mario Bellini, a young architect already established in his profession, had influential figures like Gio Ponti and Piero Portaluppi as his mentors at the Polytechnic University of Milan. While learning from these masters, Bellini also diverged from them. By the early 1970s, he had developed a recognizable style and a personal vision as a designer. It's upon these foundational identities that the project for the "Le Bambole" seating is conceived. This is a system of combinable cushions, creating two and three-seater sofas, playfully named to evoke relaxed living and conversation. A sofa conceived as the centerpiece of the home, family life, and social interactions.
With its soft and deconstructed forms, the "Le Bambole" series is profoundly nonconformist. Bellini's project concept aims to create a series of seats free from the constraints of a defined, imposed form. In this case, the designer intentionally relinquishes a paternalistic role, striving to offer reality, through the realization of his designs, an object - in this case, a sofa - where the user is invited to maximum self-expression during interaction with the product. Following the spirit of the times, or rather, as only great artists and visionaries can, Bellini anticipated a direction that furniture design was embarking on, not without criticism: the shift from design as a site of democratic freedom to design as the expression of individualism.
The use of the end product is now conceived as a sensory, aesthetic experience to be completed in an intimate rather than collective manner. Sitting on such a sofa means experiencing the rare and precious opportunity to discover something new about oneself, thanks to the freedom from hierarchical and formal constraints that Bellini's comfortable seat encourages us to undertake.
The two-seater sofas from the "Le Bambole" series presented here have undergone meticulous restoration in upholstery and covering. High-quality fabric with a pleasant bouclé texture has been chosen, perfectly in tune with the spirit of the piece. The sofas bear the B&B brand on the bottom as a guarantee of craftsmanship.
Dimensions: Height: 78 cm, Width: 170 cm, Depth: 96 cm, Seat Height: 44 cm
