Blue cliffs rise at the back of the shell, flowering branches curl around its rim, and in the clearing between them stands Charmander, drawn in the same two tones as everything around him. The effect is closer to a porcelain plate than to merchandise. It is one of four chairs in the Pokémon + 100 Thieves by Modernica Collection, each built around one of the franchise’s best-known starters, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle and Pikachu, and on sale from 25 September.
A modern classic as the base
The chassis is Modernica’s Case Study Fiberglass Shell, a form first designed in 1948 as an entry to the Museum of Modern Art’s International Design Competition, and one of the defining objects of postwar American design. Modernica builds each chair by hand at its Los Angeles factory and sets it on a chrome Eiffel base. The handmade part matters: fiberglass shells laid up by hand carry small variations in fibre and translucency, so no two are quite the same.
A landscape, not a logo
The smart decision is the graphic register. Instead of stamping the characters on as flat mascots, the artwork places each Pokémon inside a scene of rocky peaks, reeds, water and blossoms rendered in the manner of blue-and-white porcelain, a decorative language that has travelled between China, Europe and back for centuries. The character becomes a figure in a landscape, and that is what lets a chair made for fans sit comfortably in a room that has nothing to do with gaming.
For 100 Thieves, the gaming and lifestyle collective that has already worked with Pokémon on apparel, it is also a step from cut-and-sew into collectible furniture, in a year when the franchise is marking its 30th anniversary with collaborations across fashion, sneakers and cameras.
We have seen plenty of licensed characters stamped onto design icons. This one works because the drawing does the work, not the logo.
Pokémon + 100 Thieves by Modernica Collection. Four chairs, handmade in Los Angeles. $725 each, available from 25 September exclusively on 100thieves.com.
