Eileen Gray Bibendum Chair | Herman Miller Chairs

Eileen Gray Bibendum Chair A Timeless Classic

The Eileen Gray Bibendum Chair has a history as long and storied as the chair itself is broad and portly. The chair was introduced in 1929 and it was named after the Michelin man. One look at the chair will tell you why: it looks just like the Michelin Man sat down and opened his arms. It is today, one of the most widely recognized chairs designs in the world, and its designer the most celebrate female designer of all time.

The chair is the very picture of whimsy, with overstuffed cushions and a seemingly too-frail frame, but it is also comfortable and inviting. And functional. The whimsy of the chair design belies the fact that it took more than four years to design.

Gray A Key Player In Design

Gray, an Irish designer and architect, was a leader in the Modern Movement and had a reputation for uncompromising design and this chair is a prime example. She was born in 1878, to an aristocratic Irish family that divided its time between homes in Ireland and London. At age 22, she went to Paris to study. She was back and forth between Paris and London in the succeeding years, and during that time learned to work with lacquer.

Eventually, after the war, she settled back in Paris and opened a gallery, where she displayed her work and the work of friends. WWII forced her to flee, and after that point she gradually withdrew from the public eye, though in the interim years, created many enduring designs. She died at the age of 98 in Paris, just shortly after a very successful retrospective of her work in London and revival of the chair design.

The story behind the famous chair is unclear; some claim it was made for Madame Levy, a boutique owner, and others claim it was made for someone else. But in the very beginning there was agreement that it was not a successful design. While the design was criticized for its lack of sophistication, and apparently lack of stability, she nonetheless held steady to the concepts behind the chair. And, as is so often the case, the critics were proved wrong eventually, as the chair became, and today remains, a very popular design.

As it turns out, the seeming frailty of the base is apparent only; it is a strong and sturdy design. Commentators in later years would refer to the design sensibility at “ironic,” and in fact this characterizes much of the work done by both Gray and other modernists of the time.

The chair continues to delight, and to command top dollar. The leather version of the chair, in good condition, will cost upward of $5,000 or more.