BY LASSEN LAUNCHES
SAXE FOLDING CHAIR AFTER 60 YEARS

Saxe is a characterful and timeless folding chair designed in 1955 by the visionary designer and architect Mogens Lassen for The Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Competition. It was originally made by the master joiner A.J. Iversen and is now being produced by by Lassen to mark the 60th anniversary of its design. Mogens Lassen was like a playful child, who was influenced by his surroundings, constantly experimenting with styles, basic forms and materials. Saxe is an affectionate nod to the Nordic region’s own materials and one example of Mogens Lassen’s exceptional ability to superbly unite function and aesthetics at a high level.

As in Mogens Lassen’s architecture, nothing in the chair’s design is left to chance and everything is worked out down to the smallest detail. The strong, stretched leather clings to the wood and creates an almost harmonious, organic form. The curved rivets in brass along the back break with the otherwise stringent expression and exemplify the fact that Mogens Lassen was not afraid of going against the grain and breaking with conventions. While the critics preferred to see new forms at the exhibitions, Mogens Lassen retained the values inherent in the handicraft of past times, which he reinterpreted and made his own. ”The other Cabinetmakers shake in their boots when they see me”, he declared, thereby emphasising his position as a popular enfant terrible in the profession. The collapsible chair invites an extra guest to join the gathering and with its minimalistic, simple expression is perfect in both large and small quality-conscious homes – and is at least as current and modern here 60 years on.