Excerpted from the third issue of Chairish’s magazine, Magazinish
Born into European aristocracy and accustomed to hobnobbing with swells like Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy, mid-century Italian design icon Gabriella Crespi was also a free-spirited seeker of non-Western enlightenment. Her intriguing mix of haute bourgeois sophistication and open-minded spirituality was perfectly embodied in her preferred medium: rattan. Historically, rattan’s flexibility and outdoor usages made it a mainstay in the 19th century, but by the 1960s and 70s, modernist sensibilities had pushed the humble material firmly into the background. But with her fiercely individualistic and superbly informed eye, Crespi applied rattan to contemporary shapes and forms to create some of the 20th century’s most unique and coveted home furnishings.
It’s that daring and chic mix of high and low that we celebrate at Chairish, with authentic Gabriella Crespi pieces as well as a selection of items inspired by her work. Shop some of our favorites and gift your home with a piece of her exceptional aesthetic.
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Photo credit: Matthieu Salvaing / OTTO