Object Lessons: The Classic Butterfly Chair - Gardenista
Popularly associated with midcentury modernist lounging, the butterfly chair began life as a wood-framed folding chair used during the Crimean and Boer wars and was patented by the British in 1877. The popularity of the butterfly chair continues apace, and today it is made by a range of manufacturers worldwide, including French company Airborne... ...which has been producing the chairs since 1951 and has come out with a couple of variations on the theme (it’s also faithfully reproduced in the US by Circa50, and is available at Steele Canvas). Photograph of the Isabel Marant store in LA by Julie Carlson. The AA Airborne Chair is made in France and is available for €783 in leather. Bodie & Fou offers the AA Airborne Chair with a black or white canvas cover for $729. There is something very appealing about canvas paired with white stitching. The Estancia Chair with linen cover from Roost is $565 from Modish Store. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista. Object Lessons columnist Megan Wilson is the owner of Ancient Industries and curator of the Remodelista 100 presented in the Remodelista book.