Celebrating Jil Sander's debut in the world of furniture design
Jil Sander, the renowned fashion designer, has teamed up with Thonet, the iconic furniture manufacturer known for its pioneering work in tubular steel furniture, to reinterpret a classic design. The collaboration focuses on the iconic S 64 cantilever chair designed by Marcel Breuer around 1929-1930, resulting in the JS . THONET collection.
The collection features two distinct lines: "Nordic" and "Serious". The "Nordic" line draws inspiration from the clean, minimalist, and functional design traditions of northern Europe, while the "Serious" line offers a more formal interpretation, emphasizing classic sophistication and timeless elegance.
Both lines incorporate high-gloss lacquered wood details and specially refined tubular steel frames. The seats and backrests have been redesigned with elegant materials, emphasizing purity, precision, and minimalism – hallmarks of Jil Sander’s design ethos.
This collaboration is part of a broader trend of merging fashion and furniture design. Fashion designers like Jil Sander are reinterpreting modern classic furniture pieces from brands such as Thonet, keeping the essence of the originals while giving them a fresh, stylish identity.
Jil Sander's intervention on the S 64 chair is respectful and restrained. She has subdued the glossy appearance of the chair by not polishing the cantilever and reworked the cane used in the Viennese canework to provide it with a fresh attractiveness and to underline the sophistication of the natural material.
The JS . THONET collection will be on display from 7-13 April at Via Brera 16, Milan. Jil Sander has paired the chairs with two works by Imi Knoebel, Tempo Primo and Figur H105, because she believes his artwork is an equivalent to her vision of purity.
Jil Sander's fashion house, founded in Hamburg in 1969, is known for its clean lines and minimalist aesthetics. She has continued to design the +J collections for Uniqlo and has renovated a pair of late 19th-century villas in Hamburg designed by Martin Haller, leaving traces of the original design while creating uncluttered space.
The collaboration between Jil Sander and Thonet reflects a refined dialogue between iconic furniture design and contemporary minimalist fashion. It celebrates the lasting impact of early 20th-century modernist furniture design, renewing it with contemporary details that respect the originals while giving them a fresh, stylish identity.
The Salone del Mobile 2025, taking place 8-13 April in Milan, will undoubtedly showcase more exciting collaborations between fashion and furniture design, continuing the dialogue between these two creative worlds.
The collaboration between Jil Sander and Thonet expands beyond the JS . THONET collection, as more fashion-and-beauty enthusiasts and home-and-garden aficionados might anticipate a fusion of Nordic and Serious lifestyle aesthetics. This symphony of design will likely continue in the future, blurring the lines between fashion-and-beauty and home-and-garden, echoing at the Salone del Mobile events.
