Dior Maison Reimagines the Iconic Medallion Chair Through the Eyes of 17 Artists

Every year, the Salone del Mobile in Milano is abuzz with excitement. The colours, the shapes—a myriad of possibilities gathered in a fairground of furniture, each clamouring to catch the attention of buyers from around the world. 

Amongst the many luxury brands present at the Salone del Mobile, Dior Maison‘s creations are much anticipated by fans of the brand. This year, the French luxury brand has outdone itself with the reinterpretations of its iconic medallion chair—reimagined, deconstructed and presented in a fanfare of creative designs by 17 artists from around the world.

The Dior Medallion Chair is deeply rooted in the Maison’s history. The oval surmounted by a Fontanges bow is a décor symbolic of the Louis XVI style, and a chair which Christian Dior chose as his fashion show seating since the founding of the label. In fact, a section in his memoir is dedicated to Dior’s appreciation for “sober, simple and above all classic and Parisian” design. 

Now in 2021, the chair is brought to new life by artists from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds from Italy to France, Japan, Korea and more: Sam Baron, Nacho Carbonell, Pierre Charpin, Dimorestudio, Khaled El Mays, Martino Gamper, Constance Guisset, India Mahdavi, nendo, Joy de Rohan Chabot, Linde Freya Tangelder, Atang Tshikare, Seungjin Yang, Ma Yansong, Jinyeong Yeon, Tokujin Yoshioka and Pierre Yovanovitch. 

The creative visions offered by the artists saw the chair reimagined in various colours, materials and forms. From Sam Baron, the Medallion Chair takes the shape of a sweet pink and white medallion see-saw chair, a swing and a bench, while some, like that of Pierre Charpin, is minimalistic to the point of bareness. In this interview with Nendo, the designer explains the thought process behind the chair, which sheds its usual form and before recreated using curved temple-glass.

Discover the walk-through of the ‘Dior Medallion Chair’ exhibition at the Salone del Mobile 2021 in this short video from Dior. Alternatively, read the artists’ interpretations via Dior.