The straw seat, just like those old Italian wooden chairs, with slightly plump legs in reddish beech wood: sketches in pen and pencil, held at the archives of the Fondazione Vico Magistretti, tell the story of the architect's ideas about the Carimate armchair, which got its name from the place for which the design was created, the Golf Club in Brianza, which Magistretti also designed in 1959. The chair, both sturdy and comfy, was used by golf players in the restaurant and evoked the exposed structures, fixtures, railings and pillars inside - all in red. Handmade by the Comi brothers from Meda, it was then painted in red aniline, a colouring used back then for toys. The simple forms, inspired by Danish design, and the comfort, thanks to the harmonious way in which the armrests are connected to the back, made it popular. In the 1960s, the businessman and philanthropist Terence Conran used them at his stores, after an agent had noticed the chairs at the avant-garde Gavina showroom in Bologna: the Carimate crossed the Channel and entered British homes. Cassino manufactured and sold it for the rest of Europe, developing other versions. At the start of the new millennium, for around 10 years, the Carimate chair made a comeback in restaurants, in a De Padova re-edition, but this time for the cafeterias at the Esselunga supermarkets, also designed by Vico Magistretti. For the 100th anniversary of the master's birthday, the red armchair was re-issued in a new version, in the Fritz Hansen catalogue, who admired its design and flexible use and who had already reproposed the Vico Duo chair designed by Magistretti in 1997. The new version of the Carimate chair respects the original silhouette, but offers some innovation involving production cycles with a limited environmental footprint. The beech wood frame comes from forests managed sustainably and the flax bands (European and handwoven) replace the natural straw that easily decays. The seat is raised slightly and the backrest is restyled to improve the overall comfort. Magistretti expressed his satisfaction in having designed a chair that is timeless, sturdy, "rustic" - a chair that is still perfect for today: from the restaurant of a golf club in Brianza it reached homes across Britain, the cafeterias of a major supermarket chain and finally became part of the catalogue of a sophisticated Danish design brand. Today, a brass plaque under each seat marks its unique number.
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