Vico Magistretti's partnership with Cassina produced some of the most enduring pieces of Italian modernism. Magistretti understood that good design required expanding the eye outside of the field to inspire innovation.

What is unique to Magistretti is his relentless pursuit of flexibility. At the heart of his interests was to design furniture to be versatile, adaptable, and convertible.

SINBAD ARMCHAIR & SOFA

Inspired by horse blankets, the Sindbad features detachable, interchangeable covers instead of fixed upholstery. The covering can be removed and changed, with creases built into the design as part of its character.

CARDIGAN SOFA

A modular system that extends laterally for unlimited spatial configurations. Created in collaboration with Maddalena De Padova, with zip-fastened removable covers.

MARALUNGA ARMCHAIR & SOFA

The adjustable headrest mechanism allows the back to rise and the seat to extend, transforming from low-back to high-back seating. Available as both armchair and sofa.

Winner of the Compasso d’Oro award in 1973.

VERANDA ARMCHAIR

Magistretti called it a "flying carpet." Internal mechanisms allow the back to rise into a headrest and the seat to extend into a footrest—or fold away entirely for multiple positions and postures.

CARIMATE CHAIR

One of Magistretti's earliest successes with Cassina. The Carimate features a rush seat on a wooden frame, balancing traditional craft with modernist simplicity. This chair was a bestseller for years and mixed rural simplicity (the straw of the seat) with urban sophistication.

A few of these passed through the studio a while back.

Carla Venosta was a Milanese interior and industrial designer, renowned for her spatial innovations in the late modernist period. She was known as a fierce advocate for women in design-related fields, proving the depth of her skill by designing spaces with women’s needs in mind.

Her work quickly attracted attention, earning her numerous awards, including the prestigious Compasso d’Oro, which she received twice. In 1979, she won the award for her design of a Microprocessor-Based Bioelectrical Data Acquisition System. This proved that her industrial design skills extended beyond furniture design. In 1981, she won the award for her design of an integrated metal ceiling system for industrial spaces. This was an architectural system rather than a domestic object, which fits her background in architecture.

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So much of my business is maintaining historically significant pieces, respecting their story and leaving them as is.

However, there’s another side where there are quite literally no rules. The more I have applied this to my creative practice, the stronger my ability to conceptualize has gotten.

I respect the argument that it is more practical to stick to the classics. Your home is a staple in your life that costs a lot to maintain as it is; you don’t want to be constantly renovating and swapping your furniture.

I challenge this with… Why do you not see yourself as valuable enough to buy what you actually like?

Designing and building homes for “resallability” is the modern interpretation of plastic on the sofa. At some point, we have to get to the root truth; we fear other people’s criticism of our personal expression. We all reference cool things, save them on Pinterest, strengthen our aesthetic eye with voyeurism, and claim we will have them “one day”. When it comes time to make an acquisition, we choose safe, second-tier choices.

The weird piece that you buy will be a pivotal conversation starter; it will start to find itself as a part of your identity way faster than the Ikea Malm bed you’ve had for 10 years.

I don’t mean buying into interior trends. The less time you spend on the internet, the less you’ll even be aware of the trends to begin with. I mean, committing to the weird thing you saw at the antique market that sparked something within you, that you’ve never seen on social media.

The weird fabric you saw at the fabric store that you’ve never seen on Pinterest. In that moment, you probably scramble to find a reference in your saved folders to validate yourself. You don’t find anything, so you’re not sure of it.

The weird art that you aren’t sure is socially acceptable, and you fear the reaction of your friends. This is your way of swallowing your creative intuition; you have to commit.

Absolute game changer in this practice, go it alone. Don’t ask anyone for their opinion. You have to exercise your own curiosity without other people’s input to strengthen the muscle.

The confidence comes over time when people see your execution and admire it. Only you know that the quirky statue sitting on a thrift store shelf would not have yielded the same reaction.

Maybe your friends and family think you are insane, and are not in agreement with your acquisition. But you evoked a feeling and sparked a conversation, something your Wayfair boucle barstools will never do (sorry?).

This is the best part, even though we loathe it. The polite butting of heads, the awkward disagreement. Opening up your own curiosity to why they disagree, and hearing them share what they do like. They're listening to you explain what you like about it, where you found it, and how it made you feel. The conversation passes, but both of you have more insight into eachothers point of view. This is what it’s all about; there is no right or wrong, and absolutely no rules.

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A quick note to our Toronto community: In Corso is furnishing the International Women's Day gallery with Tacit Collective this week. It's going to be a beautiful showcase of what female collaboration and creativity can achieve. We hope to see you there! Details below.

March 6 - 8: 11am - 5pm, 2104 Dundas Street West, Toronto.

Into the female designers:

Lina Bo Bardi (ITA)

Lina Bo Bardi’s Bowl Chair, described as resembling “half an orange,” became an icon of Brazilian Modernism. She deliberately installed it with hard timber backs in her SESC Pompéia theater to keep audiences alert and engaged.

Jeannette Alther (GER)

Jeannette Altherr's SAYA Chair (2011), created for Arper through playful paper model experiments, features a graphic seat back that's been described as suggestive of a hug.

Lucia Bartolini (ITA)

As the only woman in Italy's radical design group Archizoom Associati, Lucia Bartolini created innovative work that reimagined modernist furniture, including the Mies Chair and Ottoman (1969), which brought fresh perspective to classic design language.

Lissi Beckmann (FIN)

Liisi Beckmann gave us both the iconic Karelia Easy Chair (1966), with its undulating foam form inspired by Finnish coves.

Lella Vignelli (ITA) - Left

Leila Vignelli, working in partnership with Massimo Vignelli, created the Metafora Coffee Table #1 (1979), where four marble shapes referencing Euclidean geometry become movable "legs" beneath a glass surface, transforming functional support into sculptural play.

Nanda Vigo (ITA) - Right

Nanda Vigo blurred the boundaries between architecture, art, and furniture design, creating pieces like the whimsical fur-covered Due Più Chair.

GRETE JALK (DEN)

Grete Jalk's GJ Chair (1963), crafted from two conjoined pieces of folded plywood, became an instant icon when the Museum of Modern Art acquired it.

ESTELLE LAVERNE (USA)

Estelle Laverne, working alongside her husband Erwine, created the Invisible Group furniture series including the ethereal Daffodil Chair (1957), bringing her poetic sensibility and fine arts training to transparent acrylic designs.

MARGARETE HEYMANN-LOBENSTEIN (GER)

Margarete Heymann-Löbenstein founded the Haël-Werkstätten pottery and created iconic tea services featuring bold geometric shapes and vibrant blues and yellows that became emblematic of German Bauhaus modernism in the 1930s.

After You: The Broken Telephone Collection
Nothing is created in isolation.

The Broken Telephone Collection began with a single image — a reference photograph from the Amalfi Coast — which was then placed in the hands of one artist.

From there, the work traveled. Each of the ten women in this collection responded not to the original source, but to the artwork immediately before her. With every exchange, the artist fixated on the component that resonated most deeply; elements were preserved, others distorted, and something entirely new was born.

Over the course of a year, the collection evolved into a visual lineage — a chain of interpretation and transformation. What emerges is thereby not a copy of one, but a collage of many.

Along side these incredible pieces, we will be showcasing a collection of furniture not yet seen online, at the event this weekend.

RSVP your spot on Tacit’s website, 🌐 can’t wait to see you there!

In the 1960s Aldo Jacober was active in the fields of both design and architecture and was already well known for a best-selling folding chair, manufactured by Bazzani, that had won a prize at the 1966 Fiera di Trieste.

In June 1969, Casa Vogue introduced three interior designs by Jacober with this note: “Floors that sink as deep as wells, walls that curve over into tunnels, wavy, palpitating ceilings, sinuous spaces, soft furniture: our lifestyle is getting closer and closer to that of Jonah in the belly of the whale.” A marked preference for curved lines is evident in both his interior designs and the individual pieces of furniture he selected for them.

In collaboration with Fiorella Butti, Giuseppe Pagani, Mariarosa Rizzi, Aldo Jacober decorated this house for a person in the audiovisual field whose professional experience had gotten him hooked on the adaptable atmospheres of discotheques and the Piper clubs. It includes a control booth, similar to a disk jockey’s, for regulating light and sound; the back wall of the living room can be illuminated by eight different colors. The structural surfaces are in motion, wavy, curving: the walls are done in glossy black plastic laminate, and the ceilings are a light fabric stretched over a wooden framework, creating concave and convex spaces lighted from behind.

Liberal use is made of two kinds of plastics, very popular in the Sixties laminate the walls and methacrylate better known under the trade names perspex, plexiglass, etc. The soundproofing panels of the sound booth are done in methacrylate, with multifaceted decorations that take advantage of the prismatic effects on light typical of this material. Outstanding in the second interior is the curved wall of the dining room featuring one of Lucio Fontana’s “slashes” the only one he ever executed directly on a wall.

Here, too, liberal use is made of materials and techniques much in vogue at the time: the glossy white enameled walls; the dark brown wall-to-wall carpeting that rides up on the walls to form a homogeneous shell; the glossy black plastic laminate and plexiglass furnishings; the use of furniture as a continuation of the walls and floors, which in turn are treated as furnishings using the same formal idiom. The ceiling is in white fabric that screens the light sources, creating uniform, low-key illumination.

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In practice, that looks like a designer’s name not making it into the caption, the monograph or the exhibition catalogue. This is the story of many Black designers in America: not absent from the work itself, but systematically removed from its authorship.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF EXCLUSION

Like most industries in the 20th century, interior design and architecture were dominated by white men. Women and people of colour often existed at the margins, working as associates in design offices where their creativity went uncredited. Their contributions were frequently absorbed into the mythology of the singular (white, male) “genius”.

But the exclusion went deeper than office politics, as it was deeply systemic and structural. Black designers faced barriers at every stage of building a career. Many architecture and design schools limited or discouraged their enrollment. Professional firms refused to hire people of colour. Clients doubted their authority. Licensing boards and professional organizations were slow to admit Black industry leaders, if at all. Advancement often meant doing the work without the title, the credit or the pay.

For many, survival in the field required overqualification, emotional labor and constant performance of legitimacy.

And still, Black architects and designers persisted. They built parallel pathways and wove their history, identity and lived experience into the spaces they created.

PIONEERS OF THE PAST

Work you may know, but names you may not. These are some of the Black designers who have largely contributed to the modernist movement.

Paul R. Williams, (1894-1980)

As one of the most prolific architects of the 20th century, Paul R. Williams helped define the elegance of California modernism. Often called “the architect to the stars,” he designed homes for clients including Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Barbara Stanwyck, and many more. Working in a segregated society, Williams famously learned to draw upside down so he could sit across from white clients who might not sit beside him.

Central to Williams’ design philosophy was the idea of creating homes, not just houses. His work evolved, moving fluidly between Spanish Mediterranean influences of early California architecture, as well as Georgian, Tudor, Colonial and Hollywood Regency styles. Because he didn’t confine himself to a single, easily identifiable aesthetic, some critics dismissed him as less “serious.” But for Williams, versatility was the point. He believed his true value as an architect lay in his ability to listen closely and translate his clients’ lives, aspirations and emotional needs into built form.

The homes Williams designed were impeccable. His opulent, grand foyers often became the focal point.

Norma Merrick Sklarek, (1926-2012)

Norma Merrick Sklarek was a trailblazer at every stage of her career. She was the first Black woman to earn an architecture degree from Columbia University. After graduation, she was rejected by 19 employers before finding work. Eventually, Sklarek rose through the ranks in Los Angeles and later co-founded Siegel, Sklarek, and Diamond. This was one of the largest women-owned architecture firms in the United States at the time.

Sklarek’s architectural approach aligned with late modernism, characterized by high-tech glass façades, industrial materials and a strong emphasis on large-scale commercial functionality. Sklarek oversaw major projects, including the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, LAX Terminal 1, the Pacific Design Center, and many other prolific landmarks of this time.

Amaza Lee Merdedith, (1895-1984)

A designer who leveraged Modernism as a tool for cultural autonomy during segregation. She was one of the first Black female architects in the United States and a vital figure in expanding who modern design could serve. Amaza was also an educator and institution builder, founding the art department at Virginia State University.

Meredith’s approach to modernism adapted to the social realities of Black life in the 20th century. She co-developed ‘Azurest North’, a beachfront vacation community offering middle-class Black families dignified leisure space during segregation. ‘Azurest South’ (now the VSU Alumni House) was another significant property she designed, functioning as a radical design manifesto and a private sanctuary for her and her partner. Her work replaced traditional ornamentation with the “International Style”, characterized by flat roofs, geometric forms, and “Azurest Blue” accents.

PIONEERS OF THE PRESENT

History laid the groundwork; today’s designers are expanding the field in real time. Here are three industry leaders who are carrying these legacies forward in bold and distinctive ways.

Sheila Bridges

Originally from Philadelphia, Sheila Bridges founded her firm in Harlem in 1994 to align her practice with the neighbourhood’s legacy of Black creative excellence. She is the creator of the iconic Harlem Toile de Jouy (2006), a reinterpretation of 18th-century French pastoral motifs that replaces Eurocentric imagery with joyful, satirical scenes of Black life.

Bridges has designed high-profile spaces ranging from Bill Clinton’s Harlem offices to the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris. Today, her work is preserved in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Mariam Issoufou Kamara

Mariam Issoufou Kamara’s work reflects the cultural vibrancy of her firm’s birthplace in West Africa. Her focus comes from a place of care for the community, which translates into projects that hold more than just a beautiful facade. Her firm is also mindful of using resources that are both local to the project and sustainable.

Issoufou has taught a series of lectures hosted by MIT, Columbia University GSAPP, the African Futures Institute in Ghana, and Harvard GSD, highlighting the inaccuracies of information on African design history taught in Western schools compared to her own experience growing up in Niamey, Niger.

In her own experience, she realized how little was taught about design and building practices outside of Europe and North America. Her goal in educating the next generation of architecture students is to de-center Western ideals in design.

Kimberly Dowdell

She’s a leader, but more acutely described as a Powerhouse. Dowdell made history in 2024 as the first Black woman and first millennial to serve as President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), proving that the future of the industry has officially arrived. Her work is rooted in what she describes as architectural activism, the belief that design is a tool for social equity, community empowerment and long-term systemic change.

Dowdell’s portfolio reflects that range of impact. It spans projects at a monumental global scale, including Hamad International Airport in Qatar and the modernization of LAX, while also extending to deeply local, community-driven work.

RECOVERY AS AN ACTIVE PRACTICE

Spending time with these stories is crucial. The design industry pulls so much inspiration from the modernist period. While remembering the innovation, we can’t forget the painful realities faced by so many.

These designers faced societal barriers at every turn, yet continued to imagine, build and push forward in pursuit of their own point of view.

Recovery work is happening in real time: museums are revisiting records, archives are digitizing overlooked collections, and design curricula are expanding. This kind of work benefits everyone. A fuller understanding of history strengthens practice. It gives us more reference points, a broader visual vocabulary and more resources to reflect on when solving contemporary problems.

Elevating marginalized voices, supporting black-owned businesses and recognizing overlooked contributions isn’t just “cultural” work - it’s design work too.

If you aren’t familiar with Carla De Benedetti’s photography, I highly suggest you become familiar. Her work serves as a visual history lesson of the greatest spaces designed in the modernist period in Italy. Sifting through a book she photographed, Italian Living Design, by Giuseppe Raimondi, I came across this interior by Claudio Dini.

Interior for model apartments Dini designed in 1973 for Edilnord, an Italian real estate developer.

The furniture included was considered not as “accessories” but as basic elements of the plan: the wall partitions provided closet space; the dining table was designed as an element both separating and linking the kitchen area with the living room; the baths were separated into “functional areas,” permitting their contemporary use. The choice of materials ranged from plastic laminate to the most valuable types of wood.

In the case presented here, in anticipation of high-tech fashion, a system of metal nodes and chrome tubes (the USM Haller model).

This confused me, because as far as I knew, USM was founded in the 80’s. So, naturally, I needed to deep dive into the story of USM.

I had to pick up another book for this rabbit hole, and found this incredible read that helped to dissect the USM history: Rethinking the Modular, by Burkhard Meltzer.

USM was actually founded in 1885 as an ironmongery and metalworking company. USM takes its initials from its founder, Ulrich Schärer, and Münsingen, the Swiss village just outside of Bern, where he was born.

Before furniture, USM Haller began as a family-owned metal factory. It was Paul Schärer Jr., grandson of the founder, who steered USM into the modern world in the early 1960s.

In 1961, Paul Schärer Jr. hired his favourite designer, Fritz Haller, to create an innovative, modernist new space for the business. They needed a space that could house both the administrative offices and the manufacturing operations. The result was a large open cubist space.

Imagery from “Rethinking the Modular” of the 1960’s production facility and office in Münsingen.

Schärer and Haller couldn’t find furniture that was modular and adaptable enough to suit the needs of the large open space. They developed what would become known as the Haller system. Furniture that would be easy to adapt and expand, using their patented ball joint that stably connects each piece of the furniture with minimal visible joinery.

Images of the USM office interior, and the office welcome desk with the first edition of USM systems.

“Full Cockpit” USM headquarters, 1969.

USM offices were made public, and soon, without the intention of selling the furniture, potential clients began reaching out to order the designs for their own workspaces.

The office of Elie de Rothschild and the USM systems in the Rothschild bank, Paris.

The Rothschild Bank in Paris placed the first order in 1969, purchasing 600 USM workstations for their offices, and the Haller system has been available ever since.

. 1970 USM Haller product catalogue, file storage options.

“Teamland” Open plan office concept, Zurich 1973.

USM 1976 Catalogue, showing various settings to use the pieces.

In the 80’s, private office orders were so frequent that they decided to make the systems commercially available.

Private bank interior, Nuremberg 1986; private bank interior, 1985; open-plan architect’s office, USA, 1982.

Single office system, 1981 USM catalogue.

In 1989, USM launched Kitos, a line of height-adjusting desks and tables. By the 90’s, they had introduced many variations to the system.

USM Haller office welcome desk, 1993; USM Haller bar storage, 1990; USM Kitos meeting area, 1996.

1991 Office by Mario Botto, Lugano.

Although the USM Haller system has always been a fan-favourite in the design world, it has recently reached viral popularity. With Gen Z’s aesthetic style encompassing bold colour, chrome and 70’s influence, it’s no surprise. What is most fascinating, contradicting companies such as Apple, that find a way to reinvent a product every year and make us crazy, is that the Haller line sold today is compatible with units made in the 1960’s. If you purchased a unit in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, or 90’s and wanted to add on or rebuild, you can still use your original unit. The company’s choice of 14 classic colours was so intentional that it has never changed. Every piece is still constructed in Munsingen, the same town where the company was born.

USM remains a family-run business, over a century and a half later. Their system has proven time and time again that built-to-last classics will find their way into the trend cycles of every time period.

I came across this book – Made in Cassina, written by Giampiero Bosoni in 2009, in the Toronto Reference Library, and obsession has to be an understatement.

Cassina is an Italian furniture manufacturer that paved the way for advancement in the mid-century period, a time when the global consumer was changing rapidly. They were ahead of the curve in moving from a traditional manufacturing approach, using solid-wood frames and heavy materials, to new technology to better produce furniture for the modern world.

In this book, Bosoni interviews almost every iconic Cassina designer who helped shape the furniture industry as we know it today. Some of the furniture in this book was not manufactured and has not been published online. If you have a copy in your local library, I would suggest checking it out.

I will be covering each designer under this series because, selfishly, this book has captivated me, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Of course, I have to start with one of my biggest inspirations, Gaetano Pesce. This conversation was held between the author, Giampiero Bosoni, and Gaetano Pesce in Milan, 2007.

Gaetano Pesce is an Italian architect, artist, and designer whose career spans architecture, urban planning, interiors, and industrial design worldwide. His work is defined by constant experimentation and a rejection of rigid boundaries between art, design, and industry.

Born in La Spezia in 1939, Pesce studied architecture at the University of Venice, where he developed his belief in inconsistency, change, and creative freedom.

Enough of my thoughts, here is the interview as published in Made In Cassina.

Cut off text: Left; “Means of understanding and also of” Right; “a situation to the limit.”

Thank you for taking the time to read about Gaetano Pesce. If you are interested in seeing more interviews from the book, Made In Cassina, subscribe to our page.

- Coco, In Corso

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Symbols of the Horse: Strength, Elegance, Adventure.

Following the Chinese calendar, we are entering the year of the Fire Horse. We feel driven to make bold moves, decisive choices, pursue long-held ambitions, expand networks, and take risks. This year will be a sprint, with lightning-fast decisiveness.

In this transitional period, before February, avoid being swept up too fast in the rush of the strong language associated with this coming year. We have some preparation to do first.

Understand we are still in the year of the snake. Your best move will be to start by strategizing. What is weighing you down that you need to subtract? With the year ahead feeling like a 100-meter dash, you want to avoid feeling weighed down right out of the gate. Use this next month to shed as much as you can that doesn’t serve you. Although this looks vastly different for every person, this is a glimpse into what I will be doing to set myself up with a clear focus.

• Email organization. No more messy inboxes, unread emails. Clearing it out on a daily basis to avoid creating stress.

• Removing clutter. Throwing out anything that doesn’t serve me right now. Clothes, shoes, distractions. The things you own, own you. And that feels very real for me right now.

• Implementing a new organizational tool that bridges business and personal tasks. I love a physical journal, and I will always carry one with me. Traditionally, I would jot down to-dos, and keep meetings and time organization in Google Calendar. But as my business grows, my systems need to follow suit. I am going to be allocating a significant amount of time to setting up Notion for project management, email organization, and calendar. This way, I will ideally have everything in one place and never miss a task again. Knowing me, this will take some time to perfect.

• Focusing on friendships that inspire me. I used to think this was shallow, to be honest. Although I am grateful for my ability to love people regardless of their own personal habits and achievements, it is time that I start to evaluate who in my life is making a strong impact. You are the sum of your closest relationships.

STRENGTH

This is a powerful year to utilize what you are capable of. Knowing how to push yourself to your limit and just beyond to encourage growth.

Action: Practice discipline in your life as a muscle that needs strengthening. Set your day up with physical movement to prove to yourself you can show up. Your follow-through, no matter how little motivation you feel daily, will strengthen your resilience. Be conscious of the impact your food choices have on your mind and body. Instead of being short-sighted, remind yourself of the long-term effects of certain foods. Face your problems head-on. This is the strongest form of discipline, in my eyes. Having those hard conversations, keeping an open dialogue, although difficult, and removing yourself from situations that don’t serve you. This is all a practice of discipline, choosing your future self over your present comfort.

ELEGANCE:

Strength without elegance is messy and volatile. Elegance is not only how others perceive you, but the habits you have when no one is watching.

Action: The highest form of elegance is respect, and this shows up in your communication. Responding in a timely manner, planning ahead, and reaching out. These are all ways of practicing elegance in relationships. Handling difficult situations with grace, not allowing your emotions to take over. Maintaining a clean and orderly environment reflects your mind. Take care of your clothes, clean your shoes, and declutter your everyday bag regularly. These habits allow your mind to focus on what is essential.

ADVENTURE

Adventure for me is both calculated risk and light-hearted whimsy. Taking on the unknown, in both business and personal. Leaning into child-like curiosity without preconceived biases.

Action: Stepping out of your comfort zone to seek the truly unknown. Without research, overthinking, and comparison. Practice curiosity with an open mind. You would be shocked to realize how many unconscious rules we have standing in the way of making change for ourselves. Avoid judgment as a defence mechanism for your own insecurity. Expand your knowledge, not only in your industry. Exercise a variety of creative expressions that aren’t your own. Music, art, dance, theatre, woodworking, etc. This will inspire you in your own area of expertise, even if you don’t work in a creative industry. Avoid permanence in your identity; you can adapt at any time, and when you don’t think you can, the universe will make you.

Putman’s work has stuck with me as long as I have been immersed in the world of design - so, since my mother dragged me to my first furniture showroom at the ripe age of 5.

Putman’s disregard for traditional design rules, paired with her attention to the evolution of modern lifestyles, formed an aesthetic that was unmistakably her own. Decades later, her work remains immediately recognizable.

Like most creative women, Putman is hard to define in a single sentence. An interior designer, curator, fashion editor, and furniture designer, to name a few of her talents. Putman began her career in fashion and publishing before turning to interior design later in life. While working as a messenger for the journal L’Œil, she encountered artists, writers, and thinkers who reshaped her understanding of modern culture. She soon began writing about interiors and became involved with Prisunic. It was in this accessibly priced French retail chain that she challenged the established idea that style equalled elitism. Like many icons of the mid-century period, she was driven by the desire to make art and design accessible through mass distribution. This period marked her belief that modern design could be produced industrially without losing its intelligence or integrity.

Putnam’s Parisian loft, 1980s.

Her apartment was, unsurprisingly, filled with iconic pieces, including a black leather Le Corbusier LC4 lounge chair, Thonet Model 209 bentwood armchairs, and a variety of Eileen Gray rugs.

She founded Écart International in the late 1970s, a furniture showroom that positioned itself as a pioneer in what it called an “archaeology of modernity”. Aiming to reissue furniture and objects from historical creators of the early 20th century by obtaining the licensing and producing under the Écart label. She played a key role in reviving interest in modernist designers such as Eileen Gray, Jean Prouvé, and Pierre Chareau, helping to cement their place in design history.

Various pieces designed and reissued at Écart;

Écart showroom, designed by Putman (1991).

Putman was known for her use of black and white, specifically her iconic checkerboard mosaics.

“I like the beautiful and the useful, and even more the beauty of the useful.” Putman once said.

Raised within the bourgeois interiors of her childhood, Putman developed an early aversion to excess, becoming a self-described minimalist. “Aged 15, I told my mother I wanted to clear my bedroom of all the objects that crowded it”. Putman once recalled.

Stan Levy and Colette Bel’s, Paris (1981);

Her residential work somehow never reads as stark minimalism, even though she designed within a neutral colour palette. There is warmth and character present, despite her taste being rooted in simplicity.

Various residential projects Putman designed;

Putman also designed countless commercial spaces. She consistently returned spaces to their essential state, removing excess to focus on structure, light, and proportion.

Emptiness, for Putman, was not absence but possibility. Her interiors often contained only what was strictly necessary.

As her reputation grew, Putman was entrusted with overseeing the renovation of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1992.

Light played an essential role in her work. Natural light, in particular, often evoked childhood memories. Putman treated it as a material in its own right, filtering, reflecting, and shaping it through glass, mirrors, and architectural details.

Other various corporate and commercial spaces Putman designed;

Putman’s work has stayed with us not because it demands attention, but because time rewards it. In a world increasingly driven by excess, Putman’s work offers something rare: permission to slow down, and to trust that quiet decisions can leave the strongest impression.