Image source: B&B Italia — Papilio
© B&B Italia and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Collection Story
Origin
Papilio is a family of seating and a bed by Naoto Fukasawa for B&B Italia. Its name is the Latin word for butterfly, and B&B Italia's Concept text begins with butterflies in flight: the design image was a chair that would welcome the sitter gracefully, with the movement of a butterfly.
Design Language
The larger armchairs are shaped around an upside-down truncated cone, and the back extends into two wings. B&B Italia ties the series to simplicity, immediacy and comfort, and a metal zipper on the back that removes the cover is described as a feature of the whole line.
Key Pieces
- Papilio chair and stool (2008)
- Grande Papilio armchair (2009)
- Piccola Papilio armchair (2010)
- Mini Papilio chair (2012)
- Papilio bed (2013)
- Papilio Shell chair (2015)
- Love Papilio sofa, named in the Concept text
Pieces in this collection
Papilio Shell
Chair with a polypropylene or padded shell and a butterfly-wing back, on steel or wooden legs
Grande Papilio
A 2009 high-back swivel armchair shaped around an inverted truncated cone.
Papilio Chair
Upholstered chair whose back curves into butterfly-like wings, on a light steel frame
Papilio
Single-material upholstered bed in five sizes, with a continuous line and a winged headboard
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