With a bevy of recently new and re-issued but re-tooled collections, French furniture producer Ligne Roset is looking to play its part in facilitating a more sustainable and flexible future. The heritage, family-run company has long championed a culture of adaptability—consistently shifting to meet the moment and address changing demands. The boutique brand has done so without compromising on its use of quality materials or high-craft techniques. Through this trajectory of agile evolution, Ligne Roset has taken several critical risks; taken-on the development of paradigmatic designs that have become wildly successful and widely influential.
The iconic Togo Sofa—designer Michel Ducaroy’s groundbreaking 1973 proposition—catalyzed a significant shift in how material and form could be used but also how changing societal habits could be better accommodated; expanding the expectation of how people are meant to sit down, lounge, and relax.
(Top image courtesy of Ligne Roset)
Kobold Soft Collection (Image courtesy of Ligne Roset)
Faced with the increasingly acute issues of excessive waste, rapidly depleting natural resources, and other ecological challenges, Ligne Roset recently announced that the Togo would be manufactured using recycled, post-consumer foam—a hyper-engineered synthetic that doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to environmental impact. Avoiding the pitfalls of green washing, Ligne Roset is being honest in not disingenuously claiming that the sofa will be produced entirely from the upcycled material. Rather, the brand is clearly stating that the re-tooled design will be manufactured with at least 50-percent of the repurposed matter. The strategy was developed in line with the brand’s circularity (Re) Program. Through this initiative, products are bought-back, restored with recycled elements, and re-sold.
In meeting the moment of changing behaviors—the growing need for functional flexibility—Ligne Roset recently re-introduced Sandra; designer Annie Hiéronimus’s 1975 radically soft and ergonomic but light and transmutable settee. Answering a collective call for modularity and multi-modality, the company has also introduced the Kobold Soft concept: “a compact island for living… bringing together seating, lounging, storage and display in one single piece.”
Sandra Sofa (Image courtesy of Ligne Roset)
With all of this in mind, Ligne Roset remains an important ICFF partner. The brand and fair share a fundamental understanding that design is a continuous re-assessment of function, not just a stylistic exercise. This year, Ligne Roset will sponsor and outfit ICFF’s Welcoming Lounge.
