Tokyo Chaise Longue

The Tokyo Chaise Longue is a fascinating design object with organic and sinuous forms. It was designed by Charlotte Perriand during her years in Japan, where the renowned French designer was much influenced by Eastern culture, particularly the bamboo craftsmanship techniques.

Perriand stayed in Japan for two years, invited by the Japanese Ministry of Commerce and Industry to provide consultancy on furniture production development. The profound influence of Eastern sensibilities on Perriand began in 1940, when she revisited her most famous design, the LC4 Chaise Longue, and reimagined it with a bamboo structure.

The effect was stunning, and although one might think of a contradiction in Perriand’s work—the machine aesthetic versus an organic, naturalistic approach—this chaise longue instead encapsulates Perriand’s entire poetic vision.

With this project, Perriand demonstrated exceptional technical skills while reconciling the chair as a “machine for relaxation” with the modernist trends of her work, along with her interest in nature and organic materials.

In Perriand’s own words: “It was the sight of a bamboo sugar tong in Japan that gave me the idea to transpose the famous 1928 LC4 Chaise Longue using the flexibility of worked bamboo instead of steel, thus pushing the technique to its utmost possibilities. The result was magnificent; from the change in materials, a new plasticity was born, for the same use: the relaxation of the human body. There is no formula; creation arises from the materials and their realization, which condition new forms and preserve the charm of their beauty through time and space.”