StyleBust » haute femme

Sassy Seating: more haute femme chairs

14 years ago

by Style Bust in Selective Lifestyle Trends

Last week, my post on haute femme chairs (link here) received positive reviews, so I thought I’d do another story on fun chairs! (Okay fine…the positive reviews were just from my friends, but still. They count.) So this week I thought I’d share some more fabulous and zany renditions of traditional chair designs. Yay!

David Bromstad (HGTV's Color Splash, Design Star season 1 winner) costarring with his white haute femme Rococo chair in his weekly Design Star vlog. Whatever David Bromstad is seen with, it must be right.

We defined haute femme as bringing back the romanticism and plush comfort of eras past and adding whimsical modern twists. Perhaps the first person to introduce this idea was Italian designer Alessandro Mendini in 1978 when he came out with his Proust chair (Poltrona di Proust) as a part of his Redesigns Furniture series. He believed that modern design was running out of new ideas and turned to redecorating classics as a solution. Here, he painted a Louis XV chair with imagery that evokes the work of 19th century writer Marcel Proust.

Proust chair by Alessandro Mendini

Anthropologie, known for its artsy, soulful aesthetic, carries upholstered furniture that follows Mendini’s vision.

Top: Louisa Settee $2,498 Bottom: Striped Kilim Sofa $2,498

Cleo Chair, Katsina $998

Josef Wingback Chair, Butterflies $1,698

Battersea Sofette, Bloom $2,998

Soren Chair, Painter's Palette $1,598

Betram Chair, Vera Bubbles $1,598

Personally, I think Mendini’s experiment became an enormous success. -Beryl

Liv-Chic: modern baroque will get my heart broke

14 years ago

by Style Bust in Selective Lifestyle Trends

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Cue the Korean drama montages—I just fell in love!! There I was, hopefully surfing the internet for furniture manufacturers that carried playful, bold renditions of rococo-era chairs for my story on King Louis XV design (“Coo coo for Rococo!” it was going to be called), when I stumbled across my DREAM CHAIR.

Gigi by Liv-Chic ($2,185.00)

I know, I know. I’m silly. Other people have dream cars; I have dream chairs. But I had seriously been yearning for the sure to be amazing visual effects of modernizing 18^th century French furniture when I came across the online furniture Liv-Chic (www.liv-chic.com) and realized that I was not alone. Founded in 2007 by New York interior designer Hilary White, Liv-Chic specializes in modern, sassy Baroque furniture that is custom-made to fit your every last whim down to color, fabric, and finish (because, according to the website, a Liv-Chic girl “wants what she wants, how she wants”).

The trend is called haute femme—bringing back the romanticism and luxurious plush comfort of eras past and adding whimsical modern twists. “There is a trend away from colder, contemporary environments to something that’s a little bit more plush, warm and eclectic,” says Wid Chapman, a Parsons School of Design professor. With its gilded frames and ornate curves (and endorsements from Madames Pompadour and Antoniette), it’s no wonder that French furniture has recaptured our hearts and fancies.

By Liv-Chic. Another possible twist to the Gigi chair. Love it, love it, love it!!!

From the BG at Bergdorf Goodman restaurant in New York. Ooh! Pretty blue chairs!

Each furniture design in the Liv-Chic line is given a female name, which is perfect as each piece pops princess personality. Add one or two of these lovely ladies to your home for instant drama and pizazz. Meet some of your royal highnesses here: