I’m doing what I thought I would never be doing: Emailing Jil Sander. There is of course a specific reason for the exchange. Sander, the legendary visionary of purist, minimalist fashion who disappeared from fashion and into the warm embrace of an anonymous life some years ago, leaving us her Uniqlo +J work as a parting gift, has agreed to discuss her collaboration with the furniture maker Thonet. It’s as absolutely intentional and deliberate as anything else she has ever done in her long career.
Just unveiled at Milan Design Week—the annual event that takes place alongside the Salone del Mobile furniture fair in the Italian city—JS.Thonet is the Hamburg-based designer’s reimagining of Thonet’s iconic tubular steel seating and side tables, originally designed by Marcel Breuer in the late 1920s. There are two iterations: Nordic, with blonde polished wood accents; and, Serious, with black lacquer. Both come with Viennese canework or leather upholstery.
Like so much of what Jil Sander has done, drawing a global group of acolytes (including me, truth be told) to her work, it reimagines the familiar, and renews it with a fresh and compelling sense of urgency. (Consider how she elevated the white cotton poplin shirt into the stratosphere while always keeping it grounded.) What follows is the conversation I had with Sander, no deductions, no additions: True to form, she kept everything direct, unvarnished, and straight to the point.
MH: How did this collaboration come about?
JS: I was approached by Thonet with the project of re-interpreting Marcel Breuer’s cantilever. I visited the Thonet manufactory in Frankenberg, Germany, and inspected the archives. The manual work process was as impressive as the thorough understanding of quality choices. So, I agreed with enthusiasm to the collaboration.
What does Thonet mean to you?
Thonet is a resounding name in design history dating back to the Biedermeier movement. They went from bentwood to steel tube chair creations and engaged Bauhaus masters like Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe, as well as Le Corbusier. With Thonet comes a legacy of modernity and the pushing of frontiers. I felt at home with my design aesthetics.
Did you already own any Thonet? If so, what?
I bought a set of the Thonet Bentwood Armchair 209 in my early youth.
What was the process like working with the company? How long did it take?
There was no rush, it was an experiment. My only prompt was that the overall form of Marcel Breuer’s cantilever couldn’t be altered. I knew right away that we would do away with the chrome frame. The chair had turned into a household item, it was so ubiquitous that its initial design statement had almost vanished. We needed to reconstitute its classiness, subdue the shining elements, [and] choose new interesting materials.
How does designing clothing and designing furniture align, and how do they differ?
I see many affinities. Success in both fields relies on quality and innovation. As to the Breuer chair, I was re-interpreting an idea, in the same vein as I created my version of a white shirt. As with the Breuer-update, I believe in continuity. You can’t re-invent the wheel, you develop it, refine the concept, alter proportions, introduce new materials, optimize the design according to the zeitgeist. Since fashion and furniture are objects of practical use, you assure that they are durable and comfortable. Most of all, you want to make them scintillating and attractive to our easily bored modern eyes.
To my mind, you and the furniture company share an approach, to some degree: this idea of combining craft, modernity and function—that whatever one makes has to be useful and meaningful. What are your thoughts on that?
I like the idea of meaning in design. I see no sense in simply designing something that differs from last year’s models. Design should be a proposition that anchors us in the present moment. Having been a child, while my country was rebuilt after the war, I have a positive relation to change for the better.
Lastly: which is your favorite piece and where will it sit at your home, studio, office, etc?
I am a fan of all the pieces. I will find a place for them.