Umeda Rose Armchair
Hosted by Drouot
The Rose Chair by Masanori Umeda turns a blooming red rose into a fully functioning armchair. Designed for Edra in 1990, the piece wraps oversized velvet petals around the sitter, turning the piece into a giant sculptural flower you can sink into while pretending your living room is an opera set.
Umeda was part of the Memphis orbit alongside Ettore Sottsass, at a time when design was becoming louder and wonderfully stranger. Romantic, theatrical and completely committed to its own fantasy. One of those rare objects that could have become deeply tacky in the wrong hands. Instead, it feels oddly glorious.